


Smoke & Psychics

by yeojasamho



Series: Vigilantes Solos [2]
Category: DEAN (Korean Musician), The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mutants, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Organized Crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 07:41:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 44,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18868765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeojasamho/pseuds/yeojasamho
Summary: In the second part of the Vigilantes series, Hyuk receives a mysterious file containing the deaths of several known individuals. The deeper he gets into the case, the more he realizes that the industry he's in hides a very dark secret.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Perhaps the most in-depth fic I've ever written so far, the second series of my Vigilante Solo Adventures is all about the team's only psychic. To be honest I don't know how he became part of this whole universe but here he is, along with other familiar faces from the previous fics AND some new ones. 
> 
> The main conflict is also a re-imagining of actual events. The names of the characters along with some of their attributes have obviously been changed among other things. 
> 
> T/W: Mentions of rape, suicide, and all those unmentionables.

Present Day: 

 

Kwon Hyuk arrived at his apartment, the feeling of going back to work sinking in once more. He didn’t just do work for TRBL Music, where he serves as a producer with his best friend Woo Jiho, he also did some investigating under Bermuda Investigations that he still felt deserved a better name, only he couldn’t think of what. He enjoyed the little break he got from sending off Mirae and Younghoon in the airport, both of them mutants and went through what was arguably hell for the past week, to their long overdue couple getaway. 

 

It wasn’t everyday that he had to use his powers to do some good in the world, like going on random missions, but when he had to, it was exhausting. It made him wonder when he’ll get that chance, to go away for a while and do normal stuff. Hyuk was a powerful telekinetic, and his telepathic abilities soon developed nearly two years ago. He had a powerful mind, but he was nowhere near as powerful as some other people he knew; Jang Ino, the founder and director of Summerland, and Lee Sangyeon. Their minds were powerful, more powerful than his. 

 

It made him wonder if he could become more powerful, and if he opened up to Mirae about this, he knew she’d say that he could be. That he was a lot more powerful than he seemed. The case he was faced with was going to prove it.  

 

As he sat down on the couch, facing the open folder on his coffee table, he looked through the information given to him again. Pictures of people he did and didn’t know, information about each one of them, like some sort of police brief. Noticing the kind of paper it was all printed on, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was a file taken from the police records. 

 

Not even the police could be reliable. He could only count on himself, as well as a few other people who knew. When he learned about what Mirae went through just to crack this case she got, it only confirmed his belief that they would work a lot better if they were together and not off on their own. But Mirae wasn’t with him at that moment, neither was Chanyeol, and most especially Jaehwan, whom he had tried contacting but no answer. His telepathic abilities couldn’t reach very far either. 

 

Jaehwan had been away for a while, and not even his own parents and guardians knew where he was. Hyuk assured them that he’ll turn up the moment he can sense his presence. For the meantime, he was faced with a case that he knew was very dangerous, almost life-threatening. Most importantly, he knew he couldn’t solve this case alone. 

 

~

 

A Month Ago: 

 

He sat behind the desk in the studio in TRBL Music, watching Daehwi, Woojin, along with three other guys, Lim Youngmin, Kim Donghyun, and Jeon Woong take turns in recording for their re-debut album. He had learned how to tune out other people’s thoughts while he was at work. “Can we take it from the top? Daehwi, can you go again?” He asked the younger boy, who eagerly got up from his seat to step back inside the booth. 

 

He signaled to the technician and watched the boy sing, hitting each note as precisely as before. Hyuk tilted his head towards the door and looked at it. He sensed that someone was coming for him. As he expected, the door opened and in came one of the company’s security guards. “Mr. Kwon Hyuk? Someone dropped this off for you, says it’s important” He explained, holding up a flimsy package. 

 

Hyuk got up, signaled Daehwi to stop and for Woojin to go back inside as he took the package from the guard, who bowed and closed the door. His name was scribbled messily on the box it came in. He had a feeling that this was important. “Hmm, I think we can take a break for now, go and practice whatever you need to practice” He advised, sounding rather distracted. 

 

“Is everything okay?” Youngmin, who was the eldest from the five boys and the leader of the group, asked him. 

 

“Mhmm, I just have something important to take care of. I might pass over producing duties to Jiho, since he knows the five of you better,” He managed to explain, even if he sensed they weren’t buying it. Donghyun and Woojin looked like they were about to say something, and he heard it in their thoughts. “Don’t worry, everything’s fine, something very important just came up” he assured them, noticing the expressions on their faces. 

 

He left the room in a hurry, clutching the package tightly. It felt like something that needed to be opened elsewhere and the company lacked any privacy. Hyuk rushed into his car and drove back to his other job, being a private investigator for Bermuda Investigations. He didn’t have time to look for the others, and instead sat down behind his desk and opened the package. 

 

It was a thick folder, folded and a little dirty around the edges, as if someone had kept this and forgot about it. But what caught his attention the most was the label. 

 

_ Madame Seo _

 

The telekinetic opened the folder, seeing it contained a lot of papers, charts, and a thin wad of photos that went up in the air, separating themselves so he could see each one. There were photos of five women, one of which was especially blurry, obscured from view compared to the rest. He realized that the rest of the photos were of actresses, and he was vaguely familiar with each one. 

 

The rest of the photos were of four men, one was a police officer, the other a basketball player, and the two others were seemingly actors and singers. Another photo, he held up looked like a wedding photo as well, of one of the women and the basketball player. 

 

Turning the photos around, he noticed some information on each one. The two people in the wedding photo were Na Youngji and Ji Myungsoo. He remembered Myungsoo being one of the best basketball players in the country, and Youngji, his wife, was one of the top actresses over a decade ago. He read through the information. 

 

_ Na Youngji - Committed suicide by hanging in 2008 - murder covered up as suicide _

_ Ji Myungsoo - Committed suicide by hanging in 2013 - murder covered up as suicide _

 

Hyuk realized why this file was sent to him. He looked through the rest of the photos. One woman in particular, he recognized was Min Junghwa, who played an antagonist in a popular drama he remembered watching years ago. 

 

_ Min Junghwa - Committed suicide in 2009 - forcibly hanged, murder covered up as suicide  _

 

He looked through the rest of the photos, realizing that one of the guys, one of the actors, was Youngji’s brother Na Jongsuk, whom he read carried her portrait during her funeral procession. Jongsuk became depressed upon the death of his sister, later supposedly hanging himself two years after her death. 

 

_ Na Jongsuk - Committed suicide in 2010 - murder cover up _

 

“What do you all have in common” He muttered, reading the rest of the information. 

 

The other actor, as he read, Oh Jinho, was close to Junghwa. A former singer and actor, who carried her picture during her funeral. Jinho was accused of drug possession and retired, later committing suicide by hanging. 

 

_ Oh Jinho - committed suicide - murder cover up _

 

He turned to the information behind the photo of a policeman. Jung Yujin, whom he read, was one of the most commended policemen in the force, whose body was found in a reservoir. Hyuk tilted his head in confusion. These were cases of deaths. 

 

_ Jung Yujin - apparent suicide in 2015 - murder cover up _

 

Hyuk looked at the chart drawn on one of the papers. All of the deaths were linked to Madame Seo, and he figured out what the one who sent this to him wanted him to do. They wanted him to be the one to solve this entire case, to bring whoever this Madame Seo was to justice, regardless of what could happen. He was the only one capable if non-mutants couldn’t do it. 

 

“Send in a psychic, and everyone is vulnerable” He muttered to himself, as he looked through the chart. 

 

~ 

 

He spent the following day in the office, in front of the computer where a lot of information could be held. He looked up each and every one of the people who died, and tried to piece together what connected all of them. 

 

Hyuk’s phone beeped and he saw a message. It was from his aunt, who was asking if his cousin Midam could stay with him for a few days until he got settled elsewhere. “Who is this Madame Seo?” He muttered, searching her name, and a brow raised when very little results turned up, among those results being the blurred out photo that he already had. 

 

The telekinetic looked through the folder again and one piece of paper floated in the air facing him. He read the information that was typed on it. From all the supposed suicides, none left suicide notes, with the exception of Junghwa, whom the police found a list of 30 names. Hyuk looked through the information on Junghwa again, and read out that the CCTV footage prior to her death were discarded. 

 

He had to tell someone about this. He had to see some help, but from what he read, he couldn’t trust anyone he knew in the industry with the information. Hyuk looked back at the screen that showed the search results for Madame Seo. Half the results were pointing to a luxury brand’s website, Montague. He picked up his phone and typed a reply to his aunt, telling her about the passcode to his apartment so Midam could let himself in. He figured out who to go to, someone who might have an idea of what he was getting into. 

 

~ 

 

Hyuk found himself at the entrance of the country’s maximum security jail. There wasn’t any other option left, and he figured they might know a thing or two about what he’s getting into. He went through all the security checks, and was led down a dimly-lit hallway full of cells. Music was playing in some of them, and the noise of a tv could also be heard. 

 

He stopped in front of a door. “You have fifteen minutes to talk” the guard accompanying him said, before knocking on the door. “Kang Younghyun, someone’s here to see you” He said. 

 

The door opened and Hyuk was face to face with the eldest child of the Kang family that they encountered a few months back. The guard left them, making sure the door was open, but the door closed behind the telekinetic as he stepped inside anyway. The telekinetic noticed the security cameras placed in the corners of the room. Younghyun held back a look of slight surprise as he heard the cameras suddenly turn off. “Is this room soundproof?” Hyuk asked. 

 

“I don’t think so” He replied. “Sit down” He gestured to the chair behind a desk that was in front of a small shelf full of books and magazines. “So, come to gloat?” 

 

“No, I’m not here to gloat, but I’m here to ask you what you know about Madame Seo” Hyuk replied, his voice low and being as straightforward as possible. 

 

He noticed Younghyun freeze in his place, and a look of terror was on his face. Younghyun cleared his throat to regain his composure.  _ Don’t answer, just think it _ , he heard Hyuk say in his head. 

 

Hyuk raised a brow at him, hearing his answer.  _ Are you going up against her? _ He heard the eldest Kang reply mentally. 

 

“Yes” Hyuk replied.  _ I figured you might know her, or know of her _ . 

 

_ She controls everything in the country, everything and everyone _ , Younghyun replied mentally. He looked at the door. “Would you like something to drink? You came all the way here to talk to me.” He said, trying to make it seem like they were talking about other things. 

 

His answer made the telekinetic sit up.  _ How does she control everything? _ He asked. “No thanks, I’m okay” He said, sensing what Younghyun was trying to do. 

 

_ She controls the police, the politicians, the media, she’s got literally every powerful person wrapped around her finger _ , Younghyun answered, pouring himself a glass of water. He felt unsettled with what Hyuk was asking him. Just knowing about it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. “So, how is your friend? The girl?” He asked. 

 

“She’s okay, doing her own work” Hyuk answered.  _ What does Madame Seo have to do with the suicides of Na Youngji, Na Jongsuk, Min Junghwa, Jung Yujin, Oh Jinho, and Ji Myungsoo? _ He asked him. 

 

Younghyun looked even more uncomfortable. “O-oh, good. She spared my life, I’ll never forget that, I’ll never forget her either” He said quietly.  _ She’s got a lot to do with their deaths. Myungsoo’s in particular. What you’re asking is dangerous _ , he warned the telepath. 

 

_ Who is Myungsoo to her? An old lover? An old work colleague? What does she do? _ Hyuk thought of a few more questions. He didn’t have much time left. “You like her?” He asked. 

 

_ Her ex-husband, at least it seemed that way. If you want more answers, I suggest you look at Montague. That’s her fashion brand. Tread carefully.  _ Younghyun advised him. “Not in that way, but she’s got my respect” He replied. 

 

“Time’s up” The guard suddenly knocked on the door and it opened by itself. 

 

“I’ll tell her you said hi” Hyuk told him. 

 

“Thanks. Remember, tread carefully” Younghyun said again, before the doors closed on him. 

 

His advice stuck. He was becoming more and more aware of the gravity of what came down on him. He needed to look into this more, but Younghyun pushed him in the right direction on where to start. 

 

~ 

 

He slipped on his coat that night, hearing the ruckus that was his aunt, who was trying to get Midam settled into the extra bedroom he had in his apartment. It wasn’t a luxurious place to live in, but it was good enough for him to call home away from his parents’ home. “Hyuk-ah, this place doesn’t have enough groceries. Don’t you cook?” She asked, peeking in his room and knocking on the side of the door for good measure. 

 

“I-I’ll see to it that I’ll give Midam home-cooked food” He nodded. 

 

“Good. Midam should eat well, he’s training under one of the big entertainment agencies, you know. He’ll be achieving his dream!” she declared, the enthusiasm in her tone unwavering. 

 

“I’ve been a trainee for three years, mom” Midam pointed out. 

 

“Still, it doesn’t hurt to look at things from a fresh perspective, like you were looking at it for the first time all over again” His mom said. 

 

Hyuk smiled. Midam always wanted to become a singer, and he felt a little sorry he wasn’t able to take him into the company. But he figured it might be better this way. “As he should be! Actually, he doesn’t need to move into a dorm at all since he’s staying here in the city. He can live with me” The telekinetic suggested, fixing his hair one more time before stepping out. 

 

His cousin was already on the couch, already unpacked and dressed to leave. “Really? I can stay with you instead?” He looked up at the older boy eagerly. 

 

“Sure, why not? I’ve got a lot of work to do in the studio, and there are times when I..” He paused to glance at his aunt’s reaction. They obviously had no idea of what he did on the side. “I...I tend to stay at the studio a lot.” 

 

“Alright, I’ll leave you guys to it. Midam, just try and help out around here? Keep in touch, both of you!” Their aunt reminded them and bid goodbye, closing the door behind her. 

 

Hyuk glanced at Midam, and gave his cousin a look. He knew what he was and what he did. “Since when have you known?” He asked. 

 

Midam shrugged. “For a few years now. Mom and I came to visit that memorial for the abductees of the Utopian cult.” 

 

“You went to the memorial?” The telekinetic asked, and he nodded. “It’s not something we were proud of doing, but it had to be done.”

 

“Hyung, you sound like you killed all of them. From how I understand it, you did what you had to do, and they were all brain dead already” Midam reasoned. He noticed the folder on the coffee table and it suddenly floated towards Hyuk’s hands. “Oh! Are you working on a case?” His eyes lit up. 

 

Hyuk gave him a look, and his eyes widened slightly. “...You’re a mutant too” and Midam slowly nodded. “I guess this runs in the family.” 

 

“It took me some time, but I can control it now” Midam stared at him. “Let’s just say I can bring illusions to life, whatever people fear, I can make them see it. I can even see if a person is going to die.” 

 

It intrigued him. “Do you know what I fear?” He asked. 

 

Midam paused and nodded. “I do. You fear death.” 

 

“Everyone does” Hyuk replied. 

 

He shook his head. “Not your friend. Mirae? She doesn’t fear death, her death anyway. She fears losing people she loves, including you.” 

 

“How do you know Mirae?” Hyuk asked, even if he kind of knew the answer. 

 

“You talk about her a lot. You two must be very close,” He said quietly. “You’re like family to her.” 

 

That made him feel a lot better for some strange reason. Hyuk took a deep breath and held up the folder. “Like you said, I have to go. I have a case to solve. If you’re heading out to train or something, make sure to lock everything and get something to eat, okay?” 

 

“It’s already dark outside, and I don’t come in the company until tomorrow” Midam replied. “Can I go with you instead?” He asked. 

 

“Your mom is going to kill me if anything happens to you” Hyuk pointed out. “Even if you can do what you do, I don’t want you risking your dream because this case involves the industry we’re both in. Don’t wait for me, okay?” He added, and slipped on his shoes before leaving the apartment. 

 

~ 

 

He drove towards the more upscale district of the city, seeing so many people come out to go to the nearest bar or club. So many people liked to get drunk in this country, he mused to himself, telepathically turning on the music player his phone was connected to. He played the songs of their group as well as his own. 

 

His own cousin was a mutant too, he thought. Maybe there were more of them than he thought, and he realized that most of the mutants he knew were guys. But then he remembered what Junhong had once told him back when the Center was still running. The mutant gene seemed to be more evident in males than in females, which seemed to have explained why only a handful of women were known mutants. 

 

Then again, he only needed to look hard enough. He was already approaching the more upscale parts of the district he was in, seeing so many people dressed for a night on the town. He was driving down the road lined with luxury boutiques, one designer brand after another, until he finally parked his car when he saw the distinct shape of the Montague store. 

 

“I’ve never heard of Montague” He muttered, trying to look through the frosted glass windows. That fact alone raised some red flags in his head. Hyuk got out of the car, still fixated on what was going on in the store. He was trying to tune into the thoughts of people inside. 

 

_ Tread carefully _ . 

 

The telekinetic took one, two steps towards the entrance of the store and upon seeing that the sign was closed, it flipped over to say ‘open’ instead. He heard the lock of the doors click and he opened the door, stepping inside. 

 

There were shelves, racks, and displays of every kind of clothing, bag, and shoe under the brand. Some bags were monogrammed with the store’s brand, and he noticed the two clerks, well-dressed women, were arranging and counting the store’s profits of the day. Hyuk saw that they were counting very thick wads of money and placing it all in a metal box. He could hear their thoughts. 

 

_ Madame needs us to hurry.  _

 

_ My husband’s life is at stake. _

 

_ She needs money for the VIPs  _

 

“Hello” He said, upon clearing his throat. 

 

The two women stood at attention at the sound of his voice. “Oh, we’re terribly sorry, the store is closed” One of them said. She turned to the other. “I thought you locked the door already” She said. 

 

“I did, the lock might probably be jammed or something,” The other one said. They turned back to him. “Yes, the store is closed, you can come back tomorrow.” 

 

“I just wanted to take a look around. Funny, I didn’t know about this brand until recently” He said, purposely moving slowly and around the displays. “New?”

 

“Well, yes, Montague is new, but perhaps the reason why you’ve never heard about this brand is because only the truly rich can afford what we sell here” One of them said. “It’s rather exclusive to VIPs.” 

 

Hyuk turned around to them. “VIPs, you mean chaebols, old money, new money, politicians?” He asked. 

 

“And A-list celebrities” The other pointed out, flinching at the nudge her colleague gave her. 

 

He pretended to look impressed. “So, who owns this place?” He asked, trying to study if they’d say anything or not. 

 

“Our CEO is Seo Eunji” They replied. “Would you like to speak to her?” 

 

_ Oh no, I forgot we weren’t supposed to give out her name to anyone looking like that, _ He heard one of them think. “No, no, I’m just curious, because I plan to buy a bag and I want to have it monogrammed” He said. 

 

“Oh” The other said. “A-are you sure you plan on buying a bag here? There are a lot of stores that can cater to what you want.” 

 

Hyuk tried not to look taken aback. He already knew what they were thinking. “I’d be more careful with my words if I were you,” He pointed out, trying to sound as polite as possible. “You now have one less customer but I’m sure I’m not a total loss. I’d like to speak to Ms. Seo tomorrow, so if you can set an appointment for me, that would be great.” 

 

_ Does he think we’re her secretaries or something?  _ He heard them think. “Never mind then, you aren’t her secretaries” He remarked and turned to leave. 

 

He watched them close the doors and lock up in a hurry as he got into his car. He saw them come out from the side entrance and part ways, the one carrying a large paper bag with the store’s logo getting into a taxi that came by. He turned on the engine and started to drive, following the cab closely. 

 

Hyuk kept driving what looked like a road that was getting narrower and narrower the farther the taxi went. The streetlights were dim, and he could barely make out anything. He couldn’t even turn on the lights in his car in case the woman spotted him. He had to rely on hearing their thoughts the more he followed them. He could already see where the woman was going. She was going to what looked like a small house, much like Jaehwan’s. The more he tried to read her thoughts, the more he saw what it all looked like. 

 

The house looked nothing like how it was on the inside. It looked like the inside of a high-end salon, decorated like a hotel. The taxi stopped in front of the house, and Hyuk pulled the brakes. He saw the clerk come in, and he could suddenly hear thoughts, a lot of thoughts coming from the inside. 

 

_ Thank you for your protection, Madame Seo _

 

_ I don’t know what we’d do without her.  _

 

_ I’m so glad we’re part of the few who can operate above the law and not the many _

 

_ Where’s the cocaine? I need more cocaine _

 

_ If young women like you want to make it as actresses in the industry, we’ll need something in return for our efforts you know? _

 

_ Help me _

 

_ This is part of the hardships I have to go through so I can make it _

 

_ Where are the other women? Make it quick, I’ve got a music show tomorrow and I have to be up early _

 

“Drugs” He muttered. “Prostitution” He blinked a few times, trying to take in what he was hearing. All those thoughts, coming from the people inside that same house. This is what Younghyun meant when he told him to tread carefully. 

‘

Hyuk drove away, he didn’t need to go inside to make sense of what was going on. This was what went on inside, trafficking young aspiring actresses into doing the unthinkable just to make it big in the industry. He felt disgusted. “It shouldn’t be like this, this shouldn’t happen again, especially once I’m done with them, with that Madame Seo” and he drove faster. 

 

~ 

 

Present Day: 

 

The door of Hyuk’s bedroom opened and a giant cork board that was littered with strings and photos and newspaper clippings floated out and stopped in front of him. He hadn’t achieved much. The investigation was very slow as he had to be very careful on who was involved. 

 

Jiho even tried to convince him to pause for a moment and help him out with their boy group’s debut, which he did. Still, he managed to dig deeper and deeper into the case, but the more he tried to dig, the more he realized that this was no ordinary case. 

 

This wasn’t like what happened to Mirae or Chanyeol, and hopefully this wasn’t like what might have happened with Jaehwan. All he knew was that he couldn’t do this alone anymore. The door opened and he heard Midam come in, humming a song to himself as he took his shoes off. He was back from training. “Hyung, you’re home” He said. 

 

“You’re not practicing until the late hours of the night anymore?” He teased. “You seem a little more relaxed than usual, is everything okay?” He said. 

 

Midam just smiled. “Take a guess why” He said.

 

The telekinetic stared at his cousin and he gaped at him. “You were picked for the debuting lineup?!! That’s awesome!” and they hit high fives. “Time to celebrate, what do you feel like having tonight?” 

 

The younger boy beamed. “Thanks. I’ve always hoped I’d debut with the guys, and here I am. There’s going to be eight of us in this group. We were actually supposed to be nine, but one of them stayed to become a producer instead, and he swore to the CEO that he’ll be the one in charge of producing our debut songs” He explained. 

 

“So, who are you debuting with?” Hyuk raised a brow curiously. 

 

“I’m actually the eldest in the group. There was another guy who was also supposed to be with us, Jeon Woong? He’s my age but the CEO kicked him out unfairly. Then there’s Lee Byounggon, Kim Seunghun, Choi Hyunsuk, Kim Junkyu, Park Jihoon, not the Jihoon you know,” Midam quickly pointed out. “Bang Yedam, and Kim Doyoung, not the one that’s also in your company” He explained. 

 

“Oh right, Doyoung. He’s working with Jiho a lot and I never get around to seeing him” Hyuk nodded. That Doyoung he knew was Jaehwan’s classmate in the university. “Jeon Woong, huh? He’s debuting with our boys soon, so it’s all worked out in the end.” 

 

His cousin nodded. “So, how about you? Any progress aside from trying to connect everything together?” He noticed the board and the open folder. 

 

Hyuk shook his head. “The more I look into this whole thing about Madame Seo, the more I see how deep this whole problem goes” He muttered, looking at the information he wrote on both the board and on the covers of the folders. “After what happened to Mirae, I realized I can’t do this, solve this whole thing alone, you know?” He scanned everything he wrote including the photos. 

 

“Who are you going to ask for help since Mirae’s not here?” Midam asked. 

 

The telekinetic shrugged. “I guess I might need help with who to go for help, and I know where to go to get that kind of help” It was a long shot, but it was a chance he needed to take. Some of them might be itching to get back into doing something like this again. “I’ll sleep on it, and if I still don’t know who to ask for help in this case, then I’ll go see someone. It’s all I can do for now.” 

 

His cousin nodded understandably. “We can order black bean noodles” He suggested, and picked up the phone. 

 

~ 

 

The following morning, Hyuk drove down the familiar road that led to Summerland. It was a place where a handful of other mutants stayed in, as a second home, led by another mutant, Jang Ino, whose father founded the Center of Paranormal Research, the place Junmyeon, Jinri, Hyejung, Jongdae, Chanyeol, Sehun, and Mirae came from. 

 

Ino possessed almost god-like abilities, from being able to duplicate sentient versions of himself, to being able to see everything happening throughout the present time, manipulating the molecules and cells of everything, telekinesis, telepathy, and he could even teleport wherever and whenever he wanted. The only other person he knew that could even match up to his abilities was Sangyeon, who wasn’t just telekinetic, or psychic. Sangyeon could perform astral projections, teleporting himself in and out of a space called the astral plane. 

 

However, Ino and Sangyeon were still trying to get a hold of the extent of their powers with Kevin’s help as with Hyunjoon’s. If either one of them lost control even for a little bit, then everyone was in danger including themselves. 

 

Next to them, Hyuk felt like his skills were nothing. There were a lot of other telepaths out there. What could he do that would set him apart from the two of them? The fact that he did this more often than they did? Perhaps. 

 

He pulled up his car in the space they left for parking and got out. They heard noises and a screeching coming from the inside. The boys were playing again, he thought. As he approached the entrance, the doors opened and he saw Kevin standing by with a cup of coffee in one hand, and a sandwich in the other. “What brings you here?” He asked. 

 

“How did you know I was coming?” Hyuk asked. 

 

“I monitor the doors, there’s a surveillance, and the passcodes change every day” He replied. Kevin Moon was a mutant like them, and although he didn’t have any visible superhuman abilities like Hyuk, he had enhanced senses, speed, strength, and superior intellect. With those attributes however, he had very vivid blue skin. He wasn’t the only one who had the same physical change however. Choi Chanhee, another colleague of his, also had blue skin, but with icy blonde hair. Chanhee on the other hand, was a shapeshifter, and could turn into anyone, voice and clothing included. 

 

“Oh, well, I need to see Ino hyung. Is he here?” He asked. 

 

Kevin nodded and gestured to the path where the elevator was located. Hyuk nodded and walked off, but the younger was quick to catch up with him. “So, Younghoon whisked Mirae off somewhere, huh?” He asked. 

 

“Did he tell you?” Hyuk raised a brow as they got in the lift. He stared at the blue boy. “Oh, never mind. Chanhee.” 

 

“Mhmm” Kevin hummed, taking a bigger bite out of his sandwich. “So, what about you? Are you here for a case?” He asked eagerly, looking almost hopeful. 

 

Hyuk nodded. “Chanyeol’s doing his own thing, Jaehwan’s nowhere to be seen. This case of mine is something I know I can’t do alone.” 

 

“Wow” He heard Kevin mutter under his breath. “That lone sounds exciting.” 

 

“You’ll find it otherwise when you learn more about it” Hyuk said quietly, and the elevator doors opened, showing the wide office occupied by Ino himself. Ino was sitting behind his desk, reading through old books, but another Ino was sitting on the floor, reading another book. 

 

“Hyuk, so glad to see you” another Ino appeared to them, gesturing for Kevin to leave. “How are you doing?” He asked cheerfully. 

 

Hyuk glanced at the other duplicates of the older boy. “Am I talking to really you? Or are you really somewhere else?” He asked. Even with his telepathy, he had trouble being able to discern which one was which. 

 

Ino chuckled and the figures on the floor and behind the desk disappeared. “It’s really me. I was expecting you anyway. So, what about this case?” He asked. 

 

“I need help, but I’m not sure where to go, or who to get to help me in solving this” Hyuk held up the folder. “The deeper I go into this, the darker it gets, and what I found out a month ago was just the surface” He explained. 

 

With a wave of his hand, each photo and piece of paper floated away from the folder and in mid-air. “What have you figured out so far?” He asked. “Before you answer that question, step aside” He said. 

 

Hyuk stood next to the older as a bright light appeared in the form of a disk. The disk lowered itself and the figures of Jacob, Hyunjoon, and Haknyeon appeared, Hyunjoon snapping his fingers to make the disk disappear. “You called for us?” He asked. 

 

Heo Hyunjoon had the ability to teleport through time and space with the use of disks. He was a mutant that was skilled in magic of all forms, and among the very few mutants whose minds couldn’t be intruded by telepaths. Jacob had wings that shot out very sharp feathers and Haknyeon had the ability to create pyrotechnic blasts. 

 

“Yes I did, Hyuk here needs some help in investigating this case and from the looks of this,” Ino scanned the files and photos. “He really does need it, which is why I called upon the three of you” He smiled at them. 

 

Jacob looked a little shocked. “Me? M-me? Us?” He asked. “After what went on in the Bermuda mission?” 

 

“Yeah, the three of you are capable enough, and could use some time to get out there and see what you can do” Ino pointed out. “Are you in?” 

 

“Sure” Haknyeon nodded eagerly. “Anything except the astral plane” He said, and they gave him a look. “That place is scary!” 

 

“Haknyeon, you realize that this is in the real world. In the astral plane, you can still wake up, but not here” Hyunjoon pointed out. “You’ll see why they called me to help that time” He added. 

 

Hyuk nodded. “This is a case that involves a lot of people, and a lot of deaths tied to it” He said, gesturing for them to sit down. “A lot of these deaths and scandals, including the one being aired on the news right now all tie up to one person” He added, the files and photos floating back into the folder. 

 

Hyunjoon took it, and the three boys huddled together to take a look. “Madame Seo?” He asked. 

 

“Yeah. We have to tread carefully.” 


	2. Visions and Memories

Hyunjoon conjured up a whiteboard and it placed itself on top of the desk. Haknyeon and Jacob grabbed the nearest markers on Ino’s desk and started to write everything down that they figured out from looking at the file Hyuk showed them. They wanted to understand what was going on before they did anything. 

Hyuk wasn’t sure if this was a good idea to bring them on. But he trusted Ino’s judgement, and he knew how reliable Hyunjoon could be. Haknyeon and Jacob were the ones he hadn’t been able to get to know since the Bermuda mission among others, but he considered it a refreshing change from seeing Mirae, Chanyeol, and Jaehwan. He hadn’t seen the three of them a lot since they started doing their own missions. 

Haknyeon felt the hairs on his arms stand on end the more they pieced everything together. “All these deaths, hardly anyone left a suicide note?” He read everything they wrote. 

“The surveillance footage before Junghwa’s death was supposedly destroyed by the police” Jacob muttered, tilting his head at how puzzling it was. “But you know what’s even more suspicious? That officer. His colleagues won’t even investigate how his body turned up there.” 

Hyunjoon frowned and shook his head, feeling his heart sink at what he was reading. “That basketball player that supposedly killed himself was married to Madame Seo, who turned out to be the reason why he and Na Youngji divorced a few years after they were married” He explained, while Haknyeon wrote it down. 

“Oh, and Junghwa turned out to be preparing for a lawsuit against her agency,” Jacob added while he wrote the details down. “And she’s from the same agency as the other actresses who supposedly killed themselves and they all died the same way” 

“Forcibly hanged, forcibly is the main word in that phrase” Haknyeon pointed out. He looked at the details of Jung Yujin. “He’s stationed at the place where the current scandal came from too..” 

They all looked at each other. “Surprisingly I understood all of this” Jacob said, reading through the information again. 

“The rich people here make me sick,” Hyuk frowned at the thought. He could still hear the voices from following that clerk a month ago. “The scandal that’s blowing up now isn’t totally related to her, so we can focus on the ones that died instead, find out the names of the people on that list that one actress left behind and maybe get some answers out of them before we go straight to her” He suggested. 

The three boys paused to think. “Hyunjoon, I don’t suppose there’s a chance you can ask the dead personally, can you?” Haknyeon asked. 

Hyunjoon shook his head. “My powers don’t go that far, I can’t summon souls since these victims died years ago, a decade ago,” He looked back at what they’ve written. “Unless you’re okay with zombie skeletons or something. The body has to be fresh for me to bring back to life” he explained. 

Jacob cringed. “Count me out if you’re considering doing that.” 

“So technically, Jaehyun hyung is a zombie now” Haknyeon joked, and they laughed. 

“Dead men tell no tales, but the least we can do is to try and solve this... “ Hyuk said. “The traditional way. It won’t be so bad, and our powers give us an edge” He added, looking at each of them. “Jacob, you can lurk at night, right? I think you can do something with your wings” He said. 

The younger boy looked intrigued. “Like what?” 

“You can keep watch over the house of this Madame Seo from above. Her house doesn’t look like much from the outside, but there are a lot of VIPs and celebrities in there. They go there every now and then to cap off those “days of fun” she organizes” Hyuk showed them the note on one of the files. 

“Days of fun?” Haknyeon asked. 

“Days of fun,” Hyuk nodded. “From what I read, those days consist of golf in the morning, gambling at the underground casino she owns in the afternoon, and a party full of drugs and prostitutes at night, sometimes those women are aspiring actresses..” His voice softened at the latter part. Haknyeon cringed in disgust. 

Jacob nodded. “That, I can do” he looked closely at the overhead photo of an apartment complex. He glanced at the telekinetic. “Do you think we can do this? Suddenly being in the astral plane doesn’t seem so bad.” 

Hyuk looked at him and at Haknyeon. Hyunjoon looked indifferent, but he sensed that he was also unsure. “This is unlike anything all of you have done and I understand. Think of it this way,” He paused. “If we solve this, and we will, we’ll have really gotten rid of a big problem in this country. If normal people couldn’t solve this with all the red tape involved, we can” he urged them. “If you want to be heroes, this is your chance to be one, unless you don’t want to be recognized, that’s okay too” He shrugged. 

Jacob and Haknyeon looked intrigued by the idea. Hyuk knew that they only wanted to do something good. But he still sensed that they were afraid. “Think of what happened in the Bermuda mission, this is just like that except that it’s happening here, where we are, where we live” Hyunjoon suddenly said to them. 

“Okay then, do we have the list of names?” Jacob asked. 

Hyuk lifted up every single paper in the folder. “Aha” He pointed to the piece of paper at the very end. It looked messily scribbled. “A partial list, fifteen names of fifteen people. All we need is to seek out each one and try and get information out of them” He read the names. 

“I don’t think they’re willing to do that” Haknyeon sounded nervous while he read the information. 

“To the police, to regular people maybe,” Hyuk stared at the names. Most of them were executives in the entertainment industry. “But we’re anything but regular people. We only need to see them to get information out of them” He tapped his temple, and the younger boy knew what he meant. “I wish my cousin could come along, maybe they’d talk more if he was there.” 

“What do you mean?....Is your cousin a mutant too?” Hyunjoon asked. 

Hyuk nodded. “He’s got a very interesting ability. He can make people see what they fear, what they desire the most. He even knows how and if a person’s going to die” He recalled looking through Midam’s memories himself. It was a disturbing ability, but it was especially useful now. 

The three others gaped at him. Even Hyunjoon, who had a very useful powerset, was amazed. “Is he not coming with us?” He asked. 

The telekinetic shook his head. “No. I won’t let him. He’s on his way to debuting as an idol, and he even made it to the lineup at his company with his friends. This is a risk I can’t make him take.” 

Jacob and Haknyeon nodded in understanding, but Hyunjoon still looked convinced that he should. “Like it or not, hyung,” He paused, making Hyuk stare at him. “This will concern your cousin either way. His chances of staying in that lineup are also at stake unless we do something about it, like you said,” He explained. “The higher ups at his company may be in cahoots with that Madame Seo character.” 

“He’s right, hyung,” Jacob said. “This involves practically every executive in the industry now, including the politicians, most especially the politicians.” 

Hyuk sighed. They were right on all counts. He didn’t want Midam involved because he didn’t want to interrupt his chances of debuting. But from what they’re figuring out, every trainee at the entertainment agencies have their debuts at stake if nothing was done about this, including the singers that already debuted. If those higher ups found out who he was, then they’d keep their debuting boy group, and even Doyoung, on a blacklist and make sure their careers were over before they even started. 

Or even worse, they could end up dead. “Everyone’s lives and careers are on the line” He muttered. “We’ll start with the first name on the list, the CEO of Seoul Journal, Yang Tan. We can run his information by the computer we have at the office.” 

“Or you can run it in Junhong’s computer now?” Jacob suggested. 

Hyuk shook his head. “It has to be in our office. If you two want to, you can stay over my place until we’re done solving this case” He suggested. 

“Okay then, give us a minute and we’ll pack!” Jacob agreed. 

~ 

Hyuk opened the office door that afternoon, Hyunjoon, Jacob, and Haknyeon following quickly behind after closing the car doors. “Wow, so this is Bermuda Investigations?” Jacob read the sign on the door. 

“Yeah, I still think we need a better name” Hyuk replied, stepping aside to let them in first and closed the door behind them. As he thought, Haknyeon immediately went to the breakroom and looked through the cupboards and the refrigerator. 

“Be careful when you touch the appliances” Jacob said upon noticing the younger. He was moving around the room carefully, in case his wings expanded again. 

“I will, I’m just hungry” Haknyeon took out the carton of chocolate milk and poured some in a cup. He drank everything in one shot. “This is smaller than Summerland, but this is really nice, it feels like we’re really doing something again” He smiled at the thought. 

“I didn’t think you guys would be that bored, helping Sangyeon and all” Hyuk remarked, leading the way up the stairs and to the room that had the computer. 

“Well, not everyone gets to help out, you know. I can’t help Sangyeon because what can I do?” Jacob turned around a little to his wings. “Not even during the Bermuda mission. We were in the astral plane, and there wasn’t anything I could do other than pull Jinri away and…” His voice softened upon remembering. 

Hyuk knew what he meant. Jacob and Jinri had broken up. “Since when?” He asked. 

“Since a month ago,” Haknyeon answered for him. “But neither of them are leaving Summerland anyway, so it’s a little awkward.” 

“No wonder Ino hyung chose you to come along, but I can assure you that you’ll find something to do that involves your wings,” He gestured to his wings, some of the feathers coming off. “I think you’re molting.” 

“Sorry” Jacob looked pained as he turned around to see the little mess he made. “I molt when I’m not feeling too good.” 

Haknyeon and Hyunjoon patted his shoulders. “We can do this! We have to start somewhere! I mean, if the Bermuda mission wasn’t enough, this is another good start” Haknyeon assured him. 

Hyuk sat down in front of the computer, the monitors started turning on. He typed the name and the search results came up on every monitor. “What do we have, what do we have” he muttered, looking at the results of each one. “Seoul Journal Yang Tan, aha!” He pointed to the monitor on the right. “Yang Tan, he lives in… oh” He read the address. 

“Hey, isn’t that near the Sky Sushi restaurant?” Jacob recognized the address. 

“It’s near Sky Sushi because it’s in that neighborhood. I have a feeling the rest of the people on our list all live in that whole complex,” Hyuk pointed out, looking at the other monitors. “While we’re here, we may as well look at the addresses of the rest of the names on the list. We pay Yang Tan a visit later.” 

Jacob and Haknyeon felt the hairs on their arms stand on end at his words. “We’ve got a lot of people to visit this week. I do have a question though, what if they’re not at home?” Haknyeon asked. 

The rest of them exchanged looks. “We’ll figure that out when we get there, for now, I think Yang Tan may be at that golf course” 

“What if today’s a day of fun for them?” Jacob asked. 

“Then we’ll be lucky to have all of them in one roof, won’t we?” Hyunjoon said. “Besides, everyone involved in those days of fun she hosts should be tried and convicted anyway.” 

“I’ve got another question,” Haknyeon raised a hand. “When all this is over, when we’ve caught everyone, what next?” He asked. 

“We turn them in to the authorities, I’m sure I can make them see what happened” Hyunjoon assured him. “I think I’ve got a spell for that.” 

“You usually have a spell for everything” Haknyeon pointed out with a laugh. 

Hyuk looked at the other monitors, searching up the rest of the names on the partial list that they got. “There are 20 more people in that list of names that have yet to be named,” He muttered, taking down the home and office addresses of each of the people he looked up. “When we’ve got these 10 talking, the 20 won’t be able to hide in the shadows any longer.” 

“We should take on one of them a day, but I’ll keep watch over that Madame Seo’s house every night and see what’s going on” Jacob suggested, and they agreed. 

“Need a lift going there? It’s going to get dark in a few hours” Hyunjoon looked out the window. 

“Can’t we eat first? I’m hungry, let’s order something” Haknyeon rubbed his stomach. 

“I ordered us some food, it’ll be coming to my place in half an hour” Hyuk said without looking. 

~ 

Hyuk drove Haknyeon, Hyunjoon, and Jacob to his apartment to let them settle down while they waited for their food to arrive. He wondered how he was going to explain this to Midam when he got back, but he figured his cousin would understand the circumstances. “I never thought I’d get to this but you guys can probably sleep out here in the living room” He said. 

“No problem” Hyunjoon conjured up three foldable beds and the three of them settled their bags on top. 

Haknyeon slumped down on the bed nearest to the kitchen, dragging his bag to the head of the bed. “Can we go buy clothes or something? I think I forgot to pack another pair of jeans” He peeked through his bag. 

“We can buy it from a boutique near that store Madame Seo owns” Hyuk replied. “We need to keep an eye on who goes in and out of that place aside from the ones who work there, check the supplies that come in, everything, we can do all of those in the office.” 

“I think we should figure out how to approach meeting this Yang Tan guy. Do we do it like those creepy guys in the movies where they appear from the darkness? Or do we do it like assassins? Or do we do it formally? Ask for a meeting under the excuse of wanting to see him or something?” Haknyeon looked up at all of them. 

“The first one seems like a more doable option” Jacob replied. “I don’t think he’d want to see people like us on a whim.” 

“When it comes to people like him, he needs cornering” Hyunjoon muttered, looking around the kitchen. He stopped in front of the cupboard that stored the glasses, and in a blink of an eye, he found himself inside a very dark room of what looked like the traditional village from the outside. “Ose, Ose, Ose,” He heard chanting coming from the outside, and Hyunjoon crept closer to the door. The word sounded familiar to him. “Ose, Ose, Ose” They kept chanting and bowing in front of what looked like a woman wearing a leopard print coat. Her face was obscured by the hat, but he knew it was a woman from the red soled stiletto heels. 

“Oh my god” He muttered, and in another blink of an eye, he was back in Hyuk’s kitchen. Hyunjoon staggered back, nearly falling over on the sink. 

“What? Hyunjoon? What’s going on?” Jacob got up from the bed. 

Hyunjoon shook his head. He didn’t want to tell them just yet. He wanted to figure out how it came to be, and if what he saw was real for himself first before saying anything. “Nothing, the gravity of this case just sunk in with me, really sunk in.” 

“You look a little shaken, did you see something?” Haknyeon asked this time, while Hyuk went to pay for the delivery as the delivery man came in. 

“I did, I just saw how dangerous it can get for us, this Madame Seo will no doubt have an army of bodyguards at her disposal, she’s got the police ready to cover up her tracks, and she’s got politicians who can order the dismissals of cases where she’s involved,” He explained. “She only needed to pay a fine for what she did the last time she was caught, right? She can have that done again, maybe even more.” 

Hyuk closed the door and set down all the containers while bowls, chopsticks, and glasses floated towards the dining table. The refrigerator door opened and bottles of water floated out and set themselves down on the table. “The ones who died probably knew a thing or two about what she did, or knew of her in general” he said, gesturing for them to sit down. 

“Min Junghwa was preparing to file a lawsuit against her agency when she died,” Jacob said, waiting for the telekinetic to start eating so they could tuck in. “The CCTV footage was supposedly destroyed, she was forcibly hanged, she did know something.” 

“Or she was just fed up with what that woman was making her do to those dirty old men” Hyuk pointed out. He looked at all three of them. “We’re an odd team, but we’re surprisingly efficient.”

“We haven’t done anything yet, hyung” Haknyeon chuckled in between slurps of noodles. 

Hyuk laughed as well and went back to his food. “It’s just that everything’s changed a lot, maybe after this we’ll all take a case at a time instead of going off on our own” He muttered. 

“We won’t let you down, hyung” Haknyeon assured him. “We’ll do our best.” 

“Nope, failing is out of the question” Jacob agreed, shaking his head. “This is important.” 

“Very” Hyunjoon added. “First, you have to tell us what happened in those missions before, with the Kang family, the Utopian cult, and the Seoul attack” He grinned, lightening the mood. Haknyeon and Jacob then looked at him with hopeful expressions. 

“They won’t tell us anything else about the Seoul attack other than it being one of the biggest things that’s happened to them” Haknyeon said. 

“With good reason” Hyuk chuckled. “But,” He sighed as he remembered how it was. “It really was the biggest thing to ever happen to us at the time, because we knew things would never be the same after everything we, or they’ve, found out, and it really was like that,” He began, and the three listened intently, staring at him while eating. 

“Things were never going to be the same after the Center blew up the first time, and there’s the Esteholm, the marketplace for non-humans. It really opened our eyes as to how…” He paused to think. “Big the world is, and how it isn’t just made up of humans and animals, and the fact that creatures that we’ve only learned from fairy tales, or tv shows, or movies, actually exist.” 

“Wow” Haknyeon mouthed, catching the noodles that were slipping off his chopsticks in time. “What else happened?” 

Hyuk shook his head. “It was a full-on war,” He stared into space as he remembered. “It was the goblin army against seventeen mutants, seventeen of us. What made it worse was that some of those goblins stole some of their dna, so they were able to have almost the same abilities as them” He explained. “Ino hyung told Mirae to deliver a final blow with her staff, did you know she’s powerful enough to blow up a building?” He glanced at them, and they nodded. “Ino told the rest of us to leave and get out because there was no way we’d win, and crushing them to death was the only way to end it,” 

“I told Ino that I’d make sure Mirae came out alive, so before I left I placed a forcefield all around her after she blew it up, but the impact forced the rest of us in every direction, so we couldn’t find each other after that happened,” He stared into space again as he remembered. “I wasn’t hurt as much, but I went back to the rubble to see if she made it out alive, and she did, coming out of the rubble and all that. Her clothes were all torn in places, and that was it” He finished. 

Haknyeon, Hyunjoon, and Jacob gaped at him. “That explains the survivor’s guilt Mirae was feeling” Hyunjoon muttered. 

“You could call it that, yes. I wasn’t part of the group until later on, so you’ll have to ask Mirae and Chanyeol about what they experienced there if the guys back in Summerland won’t tell any of you” Hyuk pointed out and ate a big lump of noodles with his chopsticks. 

“The Center before Summerland seemed like a nice place to be” Haknyeon said. “Must have had a lot of food.” 

“Yeah, there was. Vending machines, all the junk food you can eat, coffee, soda, everything. It was really a place for mutants” Hyuk recalled. “It was like home to them, and it didn’t look like a hostel at all though” He chuckled. The telekinetic looked up at the clock. “We should hurry, it’s already dark and who knows where that Yang Tan guy is right now.” 

~ 

Once they were done eating and cleaning up, they got dressed, Jacob being careful not to knock anything over with his wings. Hyuk took deep breaths as he checked himself in the mirror. Things aren’t the same anymore, he thought. He wanted to talk to Mirae, but he didn’t want to disturb her, and he didn’t even know how to reach her while she was away. His telepathy couldn’t reach very far for him to contact Younghoon or even find Jaehwan. 

He stepped out of the room and closed the door, leaving a note for Midam to read about heating the noodles on the stove. “Ready, everyone?” He asked. 

“Just about” Jacob said, while Haknyeon and Hyunjoon helped him squeeze his wings into his jacket. “I’ve long thought about cutting my wings off, saves me the trouble of asking for help while I get dressed.” 

“Won’t those hurt?” Haknyeon asked with a slight cringe. “Those wings are a part of you.” 

“But it takes me so long to get dressed, getting dressed isn’t the thing I look forward to the most, and I don’t have plans of going around shirtless with these wings if that’s what anyone of you are thinking” Jacob frowned. 

“Junhong hasn’t thought of a way to keep your wings…. Compact, huh?” Hyuk asked. 

“Nope” He shook his head. “Not even Kevin’s thought of anything” 

Hyunjoon stared at the big lump underneath his coat. Jacob’s wings that were stuffed underneath made him look almost like a hunchback. “Hyung, I can try and think of a spell that can make it disappear for the time being, try” He explained. 

“You can all try later when we get back, for now we need to see what Yang Tan is up to right now” Hyuk said, and he led them out of the apartment. 

Hyuk drove in the direction of the neighborhood where the once-buzzing Sky Sushi restaurant was located. Since Mirae’s encounter with a dangerous gang, the restaurant’s owner being notorious for running Japan’s crime council and being a member of a deadly assassination squad, the restaurant was immediately shut down. They passed through a large, iron bar gate that was around the corner of the restaurant, and they found themselves passing through a hillside village full of extravagant houses. 

The neighborhood seemed quiet, save for the golf carts passing by every now and then due to the fact that it had its own golf course. They noticed the garages were filled with luxury cars, from Bentleys to Rolls Royces and Audis. Haknyeon gaped at the sight of the homes, some were hillside, some were on top. Hyuk drove slower the nearer they got, and he parked the car around the corner of where the estate was. 

All of them had a feeling that this wasn’t the last time they would be here. It was clear that things were never what they seemed and that there was always more to everything regarding the case they were working on. 

“Alright, we’re here, time to roll. Jacob, can you find your way to Madame Seo’s house?” Hyuk looked over at him. 

“Yeah, I’ve got this” He held up the photo of the building. “Where do I meet you after?” 

“Meet us back at my place, we won’t be long, but you might take a while” Hyuk said, and Jacob agreed. “The rest of you, ready?” and Haknyeon and Hyunjoon nodded. “Let’s go.”

The four of them got out of the car. Jacob removed his coat and his wings spread out. “I’ll see you guys later” and he took to the air effortlessly while it was still very dark, soaring higher and higher until he was only a speck, and they saw him move east. 

Hyunjoon closed his eyes, trying to feel a presence inside the estate. He could, and he could see the figure of a middle-aged man, drinking whiskey in what looked like his private office. He snapped his fingers and a disk appeared. “Get in, he’s in his study” and the three of them stepped within the disk and in seconds, they vanished. 

The disk soon appeared within a dark hallway of the house. They saw that it had white marble floors, and a long staircase that they only saw from hotels and movies. In the far end of the hallway, a chandelier-lit living-room with white couches and a fur carpet. Behind the couches was a shelf, full of trophies and plaques and even framed photos of a man shaking hands or posing with other people while holding the trophies and plaques on the shelf. 

A chill ran down Haknyeon’s spine, and they saw a middle-aged woman wearing what looked like an expensive dress. She was sitting on the couch, watching tv while taking a sip of her tea. From the other end of the hallway, a dim light came from the room that Hyunjoon knew was the office. He pointed to their direction, and glancing over at the woman, quietly recited a spell in her direction. 

“What did you do?” Haknyeon whispered. 

“I made her focus on what she’s watching, and only what she’s watching. She won’t be able to hear anything” Hyunjoon muttered, and Hyuk led the way. 

They approached the door, and Hyuk turned the knob, opening it. The man they knew as Yang Tan suddenly got up. “Hello, Mr. Yang” Hyuk spoke. 

He looked wary. “Where did you come from? Who are you? How did you get in here?” He asked, taking a step back. 

“Who we are isn’t important, and,” Hyunjoon looked up, immediately spotting the security cameras he had. “Those cameras will make you look like you’re talking to air.” 

“We’re here to talk, about Min Junghwa” Hyuk said. 

Yang Tan scoffed and shook his head. “I’ve got nothing to do with that woman’s suicide, now if you don’t leave my house, I will call the police” He held up his phone, only for it to fly out of his hands and into the telekinetic’s. He staggered back in fear. 

“You won’t call the police. No one would believe you anyway” He said. “You should sit down, get comfortable with what we’re going to talk about” and the chair pushed itself behind the man’s legs, making him sit down and glide back behind his desk. 

“Whatever you’ve figured out from the papers, from the news, she killed herself and I’ve got nothing to do with it” He insisted. 

“Oh really? How do you explain your name being on the partial list?” Hyuk asked again. “I’m assuming your wife knows about your indiscretions towards aspiring actresses and idols?” He asked, and stared at the man while he already tried to search through his memories. He couldn’t concentrate enough as anger and disgust was building up inside him. 

“I’ve told you and I’m telling you again, she killed herself and it wasn’t because of me. You won’t have any proof if you place your case to the authorities” He spat. “It’s only your word against mine. Who’d you think they’d believe?” 

Hyuk stepped forward and he tried to get out, only to be held back in place. “Don’t bother getting up. I can see that you’re firm in lying through your teeth about this,” He said, sounding stern. “You’re leaving me with no choice” He stood behind the man, and placed his hands a few inches away from both sides of his head. 

The telekinetic closed his eyes, as flashes of Yang Tan’s memories began to surface in his head. He could see it, see him talking to Min Junghwa herself in an office. He had his hand on her knee, and she kept brushing it away. Hyuk could see the hungry look in his eyes and the memories shifted to another conversation with the actress, this time, he was trying to feel her up again and she kept rejecting him. 

The memories shifted once more, to what looked like a party in a club, in a different place. There were flashing lights all over, and he was seated on a chintz couch next to other suited businessmen and rowdy-looking younger men, holding glasses of champagne while a woman dressed in green presented a lineup of girls, all scantily clad, and one of them was Min Junghwa. “Take your pick gentlemen! Enjoy the party” She announced. 

“Actresses like yours can survive, with a little hard work” He said. 

Hyuk heard Yang Tan scream and he opened his eyes. He stared at the man. “Just as I thought. You really are lying through your teeth.” 

“What did you do to me?” He was panting and shaking. 

“We did what we had to do since you won’t talk, you’re a name checked off the partial list” He said. 

He stared at them in horror. “Whatever you want, how much money do you want? I’m willing to pay you all just don’t report me!” He fell to his knees and pleaded. 

Hyunjoon chuckled. “Money isn’t important to us, putting you behind bars forever is” He said. 

“Please! My wife and kids! They’ll face a lot of hardship!” He said. 

They shook their heads. “You’ve gotten away with a lot for years, and it’s about time that you pay the price for trying to make innocent women sacrifice their dignity just to make it big in the industry” Haknyeon spoke. 

The man was cowering and burst into tears at their feet. “Whatever you want! Please!” 

“There is something we need,” Hyuk suddenly remembered. “There are 30 of you in Min Junghwa’s list, and we’ve got 10 names, give us the 20 other names and we won’t have to inflict some pain” He said, bending down. 

“I-I don’t know the 20 others!” Yang Tan sputtered. 

Hyuk raised a brow. “You don’t? Are you sure?” 

“Yes! Yes! I really don’t know! I don’t even meet those men regularly, just on the days Madame Seo organizes! Please don’t hurt me!” He begged. 

“How often does she organize these days of fun?” Haknyeon asked. 

“Every month! But I can tell you that the 10 names you’ve probably got live around here” He was sweating. 

“We know they do” Hyunjoon said. 

“Please don’t hurt me or my wife and children, please!” He cowered again. “I’m willing to come quietly to the police!” 

“Good, but we’ll make sure of that just the same when all of this is done, for now, we’ll leave you be but you’ll see us again” Hyunjoon pointed out. He stepped forward and bent down in front of the man. He recited a spell, and the man passed out. 

“What did you do?” Hyuk asked. 

“When he wakes up, he’ll think this was all a dream. We need him to keep attending Madame Seo’s monthly days of fun for us to catch everyone else in the act” Hyunjoon said. A disk appeared in the middle of the room and lowered itself on the floor. “Are we done for tonight?” 

“Yes,” Hyuk stared at the sleeping man, his glass of whiskey on the coffee table. He shook his head in disgust. “This is horrible, they’re horrible, the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of gore over the years…” He muttered, getting back up to his feet. 

“I wonder how Jacob hyung is doing?” Hakyneon remembered. “I hope he hasn’t been caught or something.” 

Hyunjoon shook his head. “He’s probably already there by now, checking out who’s coming in and out of her house. Let’s go back and maybe wait for Jacob to come back” He stepped inside the disk, Haknyeon quickly doing the same. 

Hyuk quietly went inside the disk, their figures disappearing into thin air bit by bit as the disk went up and vanished. 

~ 

It had been a long time since Jacob got to fly out into the air. He loved feeling the wind hit his face as he flew over the tops of skyscrapers and houses. Even though he didn’t really look forward to getting dressed due to trying to squeeze his wings through whatever clothing he wore or wanted to wear, he still liked being able to fly. 

Being in the air made him feel a lot better, a lot calmer almost, as his mind was still focused on the case they were faced with. He was still feeling uncertain on whether he could help, or how he could help. He was aware that the others would probably do a lot better in his place, but in this case, he could use his wings to his advantage. 

He perched himself on the roof of a building near the address Hyuk gave him, standing by a water tank as he looked down. There were cars parked in front of the house, and he could see a faint green, pink, and red glow coming from the windows. He saw some of the chauffeurs standing by the cars and talking amongst themselves. A car pulled up, and a suited businessman suddenly got out, while the chauffeur he had parked the car in a vacant spot. 

“Okay, who might you be” Jacob muttered, watching the man be greeted by, to his surprise, a woman dressed in a tight-fitting leopard-print dress and stilettos. They linked arms and they went inside, the door closing behind them. 

He looked up at the sky. It wasn’t that late yet. It was going to take a while for him to see something. “This is going to be a while” He sighed, settling himself down on the ledge. 

From where he was perched, he noticed silhouettes from the windows. Looking around to make sure no one was in sight, he slowly got off the ledge, hovering over the roof from the darker side of the house to take a closer look. The silhouettes became more vivid, and he hovered closer, spotting a sliver from the curtains that he could look into. 

Jacob stared in shock. He could see a lineup of women standing nervously in front of who he could only assume were businessmen. They were being asked to undress one by one, and some of them were walking closer, disappearing from view. 

“Ladies, you should be grateful to these men, especially when you become very successful. They’ve got contacts in the industry you know. Music show host one day, drama lead the next” He heard a woman’s voice. 

“Yeah, this is all the work you’ll have to do and we’ll do the rest” One of them said. Jacob rolled his eyes and frowned at the thought. 

“So, the investigation with the hidden cameras of that group chat is all people could talk about nowadays” Another one said. 

“Yeah? Don’t tell me you’re going to get implicated, are you?” The woman asked. 

“No, but I’d like to extend my thanks to you, for keeping my son out of the papers.” 

“No problem.” 

Jacob didn’t want to hear any more. He flew back up into the sky and in the direction of Hyuk’s apartment. 

~ 

Haknyeon, Hyunjoon, and Hyuk returned to the apartment. The telekinetic noticed that Midam still hadn’t come back, and he figured he was still in the midst of practicing with his group. “That was thrilling” Haknyeon looked speechless as they put their shoes away before going to the living room. 

“I just felt so angry earlier” Hyuk still couldn’t get what he had seen out of his head. “This is disgusting, they are disgusting and for once I’m glad Mirae isn’t here to see this” He removed his coat. 

“I think we need someone like her, don’t you?” Haknyeon asked. 

The telekinetic shook his head. “We can do this, we might not have the muscle, but we can do this without getting anyone hurt, at least for now.” 

Hyunjoon nodded in understanding. Haknyeon slumped down on the edge of his bed. “Oh crap, I forgot the jeans” He said, wrinkling his nose. 

“We’ll go out and buy a few pairs tomorrow” Hyuk assured him. “We’ll go over what we find tomorrow too. What’s important is that we’re making progress with this. We know Yang Tan’s one of the 30 people on Min Junghwa’s list, and he said that the 9 other names we’ve got all live in the same neighborhood” Hyuk looked at the door and opened it in time for Jacob to come in, looking a little shaken, his wings molting on his way inside. “You saw it too, huh?” He asked. 

Jacob nodded and sat down on his bed. “A few things,” He turned to Hyunjoon and Haknyeon, who were sitting in alert, wanting to know what he found. “One, one of them has a son involved in that group chat scandal that’s on the news lately, two, Madame Seo was able to keep him out of the spotlight” He explained. 

“It makes you wonder how she has that much power? Is she that powerful because she’s a pimp? There’s definitely something more to this” Haknyeon looked puzzled. 

Hyuk nodded in agreement. “We know what’s been done, but we don’t know, we don’t ultimately know why until we go to her directly.” 

It made Hyunjoon think of what he saw before they left. Was what he saw related to what they were going to do? He had a feeling it was. “We’ll go to the next person on the list tomorrow” He confirmed, and the rest of them nodded. 

The four of them got ready for bed when the door opened again. “Hyung, I’m home” Midam stopped when he saw the extra pairs of shoes nearby. “Oh, hello” He bowed slightly when he saw them, looking surprised and amazed, especially at the sight of Jacob’s wings behind him. 

“Hello, we’re your cousin’s friends” Jacob explained. “He says you’re a mutant too.” 

“I am, yeah” Midam nodded. 

“You’ve got a very strong power, I hope it doesn’t get in the way of your debut” Hyunjoon said. 

“I can control it” He assured the younger. “Is he here?” He asked, shifting the subject back. 

The door of Hyuk’s room opened and the telekinetic came out. “Ah, Midam, these are my friends, Jacob Bae, Ju Haknyeon, and Heo Hyunjoon” He introduced them. “Jacob, Haknyeon, Hyunjoon-” 

“You can call me Hwall” He suddenly pointed out. 

“This is my cousin, Lee Midam.” Hyuk continued, and they exchanged nods and little bows. 

“He told us you’re a mutant too” Haknyeon said. 

“I am, but don’t worry, I can control my powers if you already know what it is” Midam assured them, and they nodded. “Are you working with him on a case?” He asked, and they nodded again. “That’s so cool” 

“You should probably get some rest, you’ve got more practicing to do tomorrow, right?” Hyuk patted him on the shoulder. 

“We could really use your powers on this case, you know” Hyunjoon suddenly said. 

Hyuk gave him a look and shook his head, while Midam just gave a curt smile. “Get some sleep, or I’ll end up answering to your mother if she finds out.” 

“I will. Sorry guys” Midam nodded and went off to his room. 

Once the door closed, Hyunjoon turned to the telekinetic. “It was worth a shot” He shrugged. “Just to drive our point across to whoever decides not to talk.” 

“Fair enough. The rest of you should get some sleep too” Hyuk told them.


	3. Hallucinogenic Drugs

Hyuk woke up the next morning to a flurry of voices overlapping one after another. He always had trouble controlling his telepathy in the morning, and he took several deep breaths and closed his eyes as he tried to tune everything out. Once he did, he got up, and nearly staggered back when he saw flashes of the memories he saw from Yang Tan when they paid him a visit the previous night. 

 

There was a knock on the door and Midam peeked in. “I’ll be leaving now, but your friends made breakfast, or tried to” He said. The telepath waved and he closed the door again, catching the slight scent of kimchi fried rice. Haknyeon and Jacob tried to cook while he figured Hyunjoon was setting the table. 

 

Hyuk began to get ready before coming out for breakfast. He couldn’t help but be disturbed by everything he found out so far, even more so what he saw. He remembered what Hyunjoon said, that nearly everyone in the industry he was in was going to have their careers and debuts on the line if something happens. Not everyone was as innocent as they seemed, especially in the entertainment industry. 

 

He stepped out to see the three other boys, already dressed for the day. Jacob yawned as he placed the fried rice they cooked into bowls. Hyuk was surprised to see that his wings were nowhere in sight, as he noticed the absence of a big lump. “You worked your magic?” He turned to Hyunjoon. 

 

“Yep. I’m surprised it worked. I just need to figure out how Jacob hyung can make the wings disappear whenever he doesn’t need them” He said, brows furrowed in thought while he helped Haknyeon put pieces of spam into the scrambled eggs. “I was taught to make long-lasting spells, or permanent spells before, I should have something” He added. 

 

Jacob shook his head. “I might just really consider cutting it off-”

 

“No, you shouldn’t” Haknyeon cut the older boy off. “Those wings are useful to you. We should be patient, Junhong and Kevin are going to think of something, I know they will” He tried to remain optimistic. “If they can’t, at least Hyunjoon can place a curse on you or something to keep these wings down” He pointed out. 

 

“You’ve got a point” Jacob was in no mood to argue, and placed the empty pan into the sink. “Let’s eat, hyung” He said as they sat down at the table. 

 

Hyuk nodded and sat down, tucking into the fried rice and the omelets. He ate a spoonful and paused, not sure whether he liked the taste or not. He’s had worse, but this wasn’t so bad. He continued chewing and taking in more spoonfuls. Jacob beamed as he watched everyone else eat his cooking. “So, who’s next on the list?” He asked with renewed enthusiasm. 

 

“I remember checking the list again, and it seems like Yang Tan’s got a brother working with him, in the sports section of the Seoul Journal, Yang Jinseok, the vice president. He lives in another part of the city, outside the neighborhood we went to” Hyuk explained, and they nodded eagerly. 

 

“And then you’d think they’d all live together, what would be the point, right?” Jacob shrugged in between bites. 

 

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t decide to live in the same place,” Haknyeon shook his head. “It makes it easier for them to cover up their crimes. If a murder happened in that neighborhood, everyone’s going to agree never to say anything to anyone who’s investigating” He explained. 

 

Hyuk nodded. “They’d also use that as leverage against each other and implicate themselves when word gets to the authorities” He pointed out. 

 

“It makes me wonder if anything did happen in that neighborhood,” Jacob pondered on the thought. “If those people turn out to be like that, that is.” 

 

“We’re going to find that out anyway” Hyunjoon said. 

 

“We can get you some more jeans since we’re going to the second guy tonight” Jacob suddenly remembered, glancing at Haknyeon who nodded. 

 

“Yeah, we’ll buy those near Montague, so we can take a look at everything that goes in and out of that place” Hyuk agreed, and the television in his living room turned on to the news. 

 

The four of them froze as the scandal that was currently very talked about had more developments. More and more people were found to be part of it, and the murder case of Min Junghwa was being reported again. “The police are just trying to buy time to cover all of those up, and the ones who were found out couldn’t be hidden anymore…” 

 

“Whoa, we’re trying not to get caught in a very tangled web here” Jacob realized, sitting back and looking over at the tv. 

 

“This is just the tail,” Hyuk stared at the television. “What we’re trying to do is get to the head. Once we cut the head, this will all be over and everyone involved will be exposed.” He looked back at the rest of them. “While this case is going on, I think we should hurry up.” 

 

“Good idea” Haknyeon said, and they all got up. 

 

~ 

 

The four of them arrived at the district where the Montague flagship was located. Hyuk parked the car and the four of them got out, watching a white box truck with the store’s logo pull up. They saw two of the clerks come in and open the back, revealing two racks of clothes and piles of shoe and bag boxes piled up on the sides. “There it is” Jacob said. 

 

Hyuk took out his wallet. He wasn’t sure if he had enough money, but it was worth a shot. “Haknyeon needs jeans. They probably have a pair” He said, noticing the truck’s driver and his companion help bring everything out. 

 

The three of them nodded. “I’ll go around the back and see if something’s there” Hyunjoon suggested, and the three of them split up as they approached the store. He crept up to the back of the truck a moment after the driver and the companion were asked to go inside. He looked up at the corners of the streets, noticing the CCTV cameras and muttered a spell. Going around the truck, he came across the companion of the driver. 

 

“Hello?” He spoke, testing if his spell worked. The companion looked around, as if he heard something from a distance. “Hello?” He said again, waving a hand in front of him, and he looked around again. 

 

“Who said that?” he said. 

 

Hyunjoon nodded to himself. His spell to turn himself invisible had worked. He went around again and went inside the truck, taking a look at the clipboard wedged in between the driver and the passenger’s seat. He took it out and looked at the pieces of paper. There must be something in these files, he thought as he looked through the order slips. The last paper underneath caught his eye and he saw the list of names that he recalled were in Junghwa’s list. Yang Tan was one of them, as was his brother, Jinseok, whom he realized had a delivery at the back. 

 

He got down from the car and slipped through the back where the remaining goods were. He looked around at the boxes of shoes and bags that were stacked up near the divider. There were pieces of paper taped to the boxes, that he realized were names of the people on the list. 

 

He looked for Yang Tan’s name on one of the boxes, and as soon as he found the big box labeled with his name, he opened it. Inside was a leopard print bag with a golden chain, that he figured was for his wife. Hyunjoon picked up the bag and opened every pocket and compartment it had. To his surprise, he found a thick wad of photos as well as packets of white powder. 

 

Drugs, and racy photos of the women he fondled at Madame Seo’s home, he thought. 

 

Hyunjoon closed his eyes, looking away at what he saw. “This is too much” He muttered, looking at the rest of the boxes. He opened the rest and saw the same kind of contents stuffed in the bags and shoes. “Is this what she’s holding over them for them to do this kind of thing?” 

 

He took a look at the order slips again. Hyunjoon closed his eyes, hoping to send Hyuk a telepathic message. “I found something fishy, it leads to a warehouse outside the city. I’ll let you know what I find” 

 

The door closed and the driver and his companion suddenly got in the truck. Hyunjoon stayed quiet, trying to listen to their conversation. He contemplated on what he should do: Could he leave the drugs and take the photos instead? Or could he take both? The truck began to move. 

 

“These are all pieces of evidence” He muttered under his breath, looking at the spilled out packets of powder and photos. “She must have copies of these photos to hold over these guys” Hyunjoon figured. 

 

~ 

 

“Didn’t you wonder who sent you the file?” Jacob suddenly asked them as they quietly looked around. The clerks recognized him from before and allowed them to browse. 

 

The question struck the telekinetic. All this time he didn’t even stop to think of who could’ve sent him the entire file that brought them here in the first place. “No, but now that you mention it, I’m not sure if we’ve got time” He muttered. 

 

Haknyeon and Jacob exchanged looks. “What if she was using that to lure you, to lure us into a trap? What if she meant to bring it to you?” The younger boy asked, gaping at the price tag of the pair of jeans he saw on the rack. “Whoa, the price of this is enough to buy food that’ll last for two weeks.” 

 

Jacob looked at the tag as well and his jaw dropped when he saw the price. “Looks like they weren’t lying when they said they were a luxury brand…” He looked a little pained upon seeing the rest of the clothes. He went up to Hyuk. “How are we going to pay for the jeans?” 

 

Hyuk gave him a look. “Don’t worry about that, just keep looking around, I’ll talk to them” He eyed the clerks, one of them seemingly eyeing him back.  _ You’re cute _ , he heard her think.

 

The telekinetic approached the counter and the two clerks stood at attention. “May we help you?” The one eyeing him said. 

 

“I don’t know if you still remember, but is there a chance that your manager is in today?” He asked. “I’d still like to speak to her.” 

 

The two clerks exchanged looks.  _ She said never to entertain people unless they’re among the VIPs _ , he heard one of them think.  _ She also told us not to allow random people to ask unless they’re on the list _ , he heard the other. “Sorry, she isn’t here today.” 

 

Hyuk nodded. “I’m coming here on Mr. Yang Tan’s behalf. I’m his new assistant” He said. 

 

“Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” The clerks seemed to have softened. “She’s currently in a meeting with some clients at the moment, but we’ll let her know you’re waiting” They said. “Please come this way to our lounge” They gestured to the flight of stairs. 

 

He glanced at Jacob and Haknyeon and gave him his card. “Just in case. Stay here and wait for me” He told them and they nodded, watching him follow the two clerks up the stairs. 

 

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this” Haknyeon said to the older boy when the three were out of earshot. “I know hyung doesn’t have time to look into who sent him the files, but I think we should try and do that at the same time.” 

 

Jacob shrugged. “I’m just as uneasy as you are, but how are we going to do that?” He asked, spotting the rack of ties in the corner. The two of them approached the rack and Haknyeon stopped at the polka-dotted tie. “I’ll go back to her house again tonight, see if there’s anything new. Hyung says I can keep watch, it shouldn’t be hard to do. It’s just hard to take in what I see there.” 

 

“What do you see there?” Haknyeon asked curiously, looking at the striped tie next. 

 

“Something I know no one wants to see” Jacob replied. “The endings to her days of fun. But I heard that it isn’t just executives, it’s the sons of those executives that are in on this too.” 

 

The younger boy frowned. “And they think they got away with all of it... until now that is.” 

 

~ 

 

Hyuk followed the two clerks further up the stairs and down the plush, marble-floored hall. Small spotlights illuminated the place, and he could hear their thoughts as they kept leading him towards a red door. “She’ll be with you in a moment, would you like something to eat or drink?” They asked him, opening the door to reveal a room with red walls and leopard-printed furniture. 

 

“Water?” Hyuk replied, and they bowed, before closing the door. 

 

He exhaled and looked around. There were magazines on the table, and framed photos of the items on display down at the store. A feeling of nervousness was beginning to sink in, and Hyuk took a deep breath to calm himself down. The nervousness was making him unable to concentrate on the thoughts of one person at a time. 

 

He sat down on the lounge chair and waited, closing his eyes and trying to concentrate on whatever thoughts he may hear. He could hear what’s going on in Jacob and Haknyeon’s heads. He heard what they were thinking, they were just as worried about who could’ve sent them the file in the first place, and the possibility that Madame Seo may have sent him on purpose. But what for? To lure them into a trap? To kill them? 

 

It was possible, and Hyuk was beginning to ponder on it. His mind was also wandering, to thoughts of what might’ve happened to Hyunjoon, and what might be happening elsewhere. The flat screen tv the room had turned itself on. He blinked while flipping through the channels, stopping at the news. 

 

It was all he could watch lately, it seemed unusual for him to go to something else. More updates on the case were given, implicating more people. “What hold does she have over them that the focus lies on these guys…” He muttered. 

 

The program suddenly shifted and it suddenly showed a dark room with a hooded figure in the middle. “I’m pretty good with faces, and I know you aren’t what you seem. Mr. Yang Tan, I’m afraid, does not have an assistant, or an assistant that looks like you,” The figure said. Hyuk tried to make out who it was, but the voice was too disguised for him to tell. “You have been warned. It’s a shame your friends downstairs don’t know what’s coming for them as you’ve crossed the line.” 

 

Hyuk got up, and tried to concentrate. He tried to reach Jacob and Haknyeon, and he could hear them. He went to the door, and saw it was locked. He looked at it closely and realized that it was locked from the outside. “Oh no, Jacob, Haknyeon, I’m coming” He muttered, jiggling the knob. 

 

“I’ve got eyes and ears everywhere, and if you should cross my path again, you will be taken care of. This is just a taste of what’s to come. Goodbye” and the tv turned itself off. 

 

Hyuk looked around in case there were cameras around. He turned his back and closed his eyes, in the hopes of short circuiting any hidden CCTV camera. He heard a crackling noise and the flower pot came apart, so did the tiny camera in the corner of the ceiling. He let go of the doorknob, and concentrated on unlocking it. 

 

~ 

 

“Is there something you’d like to purchase?” One of the clerks asked them as they returned to the counter. 

 

Jacob and Haknyeon exchanged looks. “We’re still browsing, thank you” Jacob said, and they looked back at each other as they pretended to look through the jeans rack. “We might as well get you some pants here” He whispered to the younger boy. 

 

“But it’s so expensive” Haknyeon pointed out with a frown. He took a look at a pair of dark jeans and noticed the tag. It was a face of a leopard. “If I owned a fashion brand, a pig would be the symbol” He muttered. “This brand really likes leopard prints, or leopards…” 

 

“Maybe we should go, this place is giving me the creeps” Jacob whispered. 

 

Haknyeon shook his head. “We can’t. Hyuk hyung is still upstairs waiting for her” He whispered back. 

 

“Oh we’re afraid your friend may take a while” The clerk suddenly said, having overheard them. “A long while.” 

 

Jacob felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and Haknyeon felt a chill down his spine. “A long while? I think we’d rather wait for him. We don’t want him to wonder where we are” Jacob explained. 

 

“Oh we’re sure, we’ll tell him where you two will be” One of the clerks said. The two boys stepped back from the racks of clothes when they saw the two clerks rummage into a kind of drawer behind the counter and pull out two guns. “Dead in a ditch in a rural area” They finished, aiming their pistols at them. 

 

They began to shoot, and Jacob and Haknyeon ran for cover behind some of the shelves. Some of the bullets ricocheting off the mirrors and even the glass windows. “This is insane” Jacob whispered, panicking so much that Haknyeon noticed a lot of feathers coming out from under his shirt. 

 

“Hyung, calm down, you’re molting again” The younger boy tried to calm him down. “Where is Hyunjoon when we need him?” He pulled Jacob towards another shelf when he sensed one of the clerks coming near and shooting through some of the clothes. 

 

“Imposters in the area, imposters in the area” The other clerk sing-songed, shooting at another mirror, making the bullet ricochet and nearly hit Jacob on the side of his head. 

 

Jacob gaped in panic at the near-death encounter, so did Haknyeon, and the two of them ran towards another shelf. “On three, one, two, three” And they pushed the shelf down towards one of the clerks. The clerk jumped out of the way as it fell to the floor. “They’re good” Haknyeon said. 

 

“It seems so” Jacob groaned as his wings were suddenly growing again, and he lifted his shirt a little higher. His wings spread out, and as he saw the clerks approaching with their guns pointed towards them, he shifted a little, and he heard a loud yelp. 

 

The sharp pointed feathers stabbed one of them in the chest. They fell over. More gunshots were heard and the two of them ran further within the store, pushing every shelf down to buy themselves time. Haknyeon pushed Jacob forward, making sure his wings didn’t hang on to anything else. He looked back and saw the sudden silence coming from them. “Out of bullets?” He called out, a sudden boldness coming over him. 

 

“No, not necessarily” And the clerk appeared in front of them, making them skid to a halt. She was holding a butterfly knife. “Mutants, as the Madame has suspected” She said. 

 

Haknyeon pushed Jacob out of the way and shot a plasmoid blast at her. The clerk flew several feet away from them, hitting the wall. Her face was bloodied and she was knocked unconscious. “Oh my god… I think we killed them” He stared at the two bodies in horror. “Oh my… we killed them, we killed them, we killed people” He panicked. 

 

Jacob panicked as well. “We had to, we did this in self-defense, it’s not like we meant to do it!” He said, trying to talk both of them out of panicking. “Where is Hyuk hyung? He went up the stairs, didn’t he? Let’s go!” and he led the younger boy through the mess and up the stairs. 

 

The stairs lowered down from under their feet and the two of them slid down. “Hyuk hyung!!” Jacob called out, the two of them scrambling to climb up. 

 

“Hyuk hyung!!” Haknyeon was panicking even more, the two of them still trying to climb up the stairs. There was no hand rail in sight either. “Hyung!!!” He called out. 

 

Jacob slid down and tried to fly, but his wings were too big. “Why do my wings have to be so big?” He groaned in frustration and tried to climb up the slide. 

 

~ 

 

Hyunjoon was in a warehouse. He figured he must be a long way away from where everyone else was. He figured he was in a warehouse located in one of the more rural areas of the country, given that air was a lot different. He wasn’t sure if his spell to turn himself invisible could last much longer, but he had to find out more of what was being hidden in all the shipments of bags and clothes from the store. 

 

He also wanted to figure out his vision while he was here. There were boxes upon boxes that were labeled with the fashion label’s brand, and next to them, he saw bags upon bags containing white powders. Hyunjoon took a closer look and saw that the powder had tinges of gold and silver flecks. He waved a hand over them and muttered a spell. 

 

The flecks were even brighter than ever, and he could see it form waves of gold and black. “What is this” He muttered, and remembered the vision he had. Gold and black. The waves faded into nothing, and the bag of powder went back to normal. 

 

He heard footsteps and he hid behind a tower of boxes. Hyunjoon could hear the voices of two people, both of them elderly men. “How much is a kilo of this eso-dust?” One of them asked. 

 

“This eso-dust is worth millions of dollars. You heard me right, dollars. Billions of won” The other one replied, and Hyunjoon could tell he was smug. “Not that I’ve tried some of the stuff myself, but it’s supposed to give you a good kick, you know what I mean?” 

 

“Not bad, it’ll cost an arm and a leg then” The first voice said jokingly. 

 

“That’s why the VIPs don’t even get a kilo of this eso-dust,” The other pointed out. “They get them in milligrams or grams or some shit.” 

 

Hyunjoon listened closely. “Only the 1% of the world can afford a kilo of this, and even they’d think they’d be spending so much” The first voice realized. 

 

“Eso-dust” He mouthed to himself. “Eso-dust” He repeated in a whisper. 

 

“Who’s there?” The second voice suddenly called out. Hyunjoon felt a chill down his spine and he stayed still. “Come out, come out, wherever you are” they called out some more. 

 

He could feel they were getting closer. Hyunjoon could feel his heart pounding, and he took a deep breath and faced them. “Hey!” He said to them. He sensed they could see him now. 

 

“How did you get here?” The two of them said. 

 

“Where I come from, it’s not wise to ask that question” He began to approach them. 

 

“Where do you come from? You’re clearly Korean” They asked with a scoff. 

 

Hyunjoon shook his head. “I came from Hell” and a disk appeared in front of them. He cast a hex towards them, sending them flying towards the other side of the warehouse and knocking them unconscious. He stepped on the disk and vanished. 

 

~ 

 

Hyuk ran down the hall and skidded to a halt when he saw a cloud of smoke forming in front of the door that he knew led to the staircase that went back down to the main store. He covered his nose and mouth, trying not to inhale the fumes. “Haknyeon!! Jacob!!!” He yelled, calling out to them. 

 

“Hyung!!!” He could hear their muffled voices from behind the door. “Hyung!! Help!!” they shouted. 

 

“I’m coming!!!” Hyuk shouted. “I just hope my telekinesis is powerful enough to take the fumes out” He took a few steps closer, and held his breath as he tried to concentrate. But before he could 

 

“Hyung!!! Help!!!” He could still hear Jacob and Haknyeon from the other side.  _ These two crazy sales ladies tried to kill us! We accidentally killed them in self-defense!! We don’t know where Hyunjoon is!! _ He heard their thoughts. 

 

“I’m coming!!!” He called out, coughing when the smoke thickened, completely obscuring the door. His mind was starting to become fuzzy. Hyuk blinked to keep himself wide awake, but the more he went forwards into the fog, the more light-headed he was getting. “Oh shit” He muttered, inhaling and taking a deep breath, but his eyes were getting teary at the smoke. 

 

Hyuk turned around, but the surroundings suddenly changed. The smoke had disappeared in an instant, and he found himself standing in an open space of land, and in front of him was a giant pile of rubble. He realized what it was. He was standing in front of the Center years ago, after the Seoul attack. 

 

The rubble in front of him moved, and as he expected, Mirae was slowly coming out from under it, her tactical uniform tattered, her hair matted and dusty, with bits of dried blood on her face. He helped her out of it, and she retracted her staff. “Are you alright?” He asked, a little absent-mindedly. 

 

“Yeah, yeah I am” Mirae replied, and without another word, she hugged him. “Of all people I was hoping I’d still see again, I’m so glad you were it” She said, her eyes shut tight. 

 

Hyuk knew this wasn’t real, this was an illusion, something Midam would probably try on him. But he knew his own cousin wouldn’t do that. Someone else was doing it. Showing him a memory. “I’m so glad about that too” He replied, feeling an urge to hug her back, a little tighter this time. 

 

Mirae pulled away a little. “I wouldn’t know what to do if I never saw you again after this, I can’t even see everyone else” She said. “I wouldn’t be able to tell you how much I liked you, that you’re more than a friend to me” 

 

“Shhh” Hyuk found himself shaking his head. He knew this was real but he couldn’t find it in himself to stop reacting to what she was telling him. It was like this whole illusion was controlling him instead of him trying to take control. “I’ve always loved you too, that’s why I always looked out for you, it’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all this time but we kept getting interrupted” He explained, the words slipping out of his mouth and he couldn’t figure out why. 

 

Before he could further register what was going on, he pulled her into a hug again and as Mirae tilted her head to look at him, he kissed her. Hyuk knew he had to stop, but the pull in this illusion was too strong, too strong for someone like him to control. But he had to try. 

 

He pulled away, and Mirae looked at him with a confused expression on her face. “Is something wrong?” She asked. 

 

He shook his head. “This, this isn’t real, this is not real. Wake up,” He took a step back. “Wake up, Kwon Hyuk, wake up” He kept telling himself. 

 

“Hyuk? Where are you going? What are you doing?” Mirae asked him, still confused. 

 

He closed his eyes tight and shook his head again. He was back in the foggy hallway and he began to concentrate. If he couldn’t control the fog, he could at least control the door it was covering. He heard the lock click. Hyuk took a deep breath and ran past the fog and pushed the door open, only to suddenly slip and slide until he crashed towards Jacob and Haknyeon, the three of them falling over on the floor. 

 

“Hyung, hyung,” Haknyeon pulled him up to his feet, while Jacob did the same. “Are you alright?” He sounded frazzled. 

 

“Yes, yes, I am” Hyuk looked back at the staircase. He felt incredibly shaken by what happened to him. “There-there’s some kind of hallucinogenic fume up there, I tried to get out but it took hold of me for a moment there” He explained. He looked around. “Was this what happened?” 

 

“Yeah, and who knows, they might’ve called the police on us or something, even if they’re dead” Jacob said, a tinge of panic in his voice. 

 

“I don’t think so. No one’s seen anything, not even those CCTV cameras work anymore” He muttered. “But what’s important is that we get out of here. Where’s Hyunjoon?” He asked. 

 

“That’s what we were wondering too. He’s not here ever since he went to that truck to take a look” Jacob replied. 

 

The telekinetic looked around, and went to the spots where the bodies of the clerks were lying. “They knew we weren’t who we said we were, that means they have a photo list of who’s associated with who…” He deduced, but even that couldn’t make him stop thinking of the illusion he was under earlier. “We should get out of here, Hyunjoon will know where we are… we’ll get to Yang Jinseok tonight, but at least we know this isn’t just an ordinary shop.” 

 

“Do investigations always end up like this?” Haknyeon asked while Hyuk turned over the closed sign on the door while the lock clicked again to unlock the doors. 

 

“Yes, unfortunately” He replied. 

 

Hyuk channeled his telepathy again, making them invisible to anyone who passed by, while they walked out of the store, the lock clicking again behind them. They got inside the car and drove away. While he was already getting deeper into the case, more and more questions seem to come up. It was beginning to feel like an endless tunnel of questions and it made him realize just how deep everything was going. 

 

This was more than just trying to bring justice, this was getting bigger and it disgusted him. For now, he drove them back to his apartment. 

 

~ 

 

The three of them stepped inside upon arriving. Haknyeon slumped down on the couch while Jacob made a beeline for his bed, tucking his wings in as he collapsed on top of it. A bright disc suddenly appeared and Hyunjoon materialized, falling over on the empty chair to sit down. Hyuk went to the kitchen and grabbed himself a bottle of beer. 

 

“So, it’s safe to say this morning has been tiring” Jacob mumbled, his voice muffled as he was lying face down on his pillow. 

 

“Yeah, we nearly get killed, we accidentally kill people, we’re not going back to buy jeans from that place…” Haknyeon added. 

 

Hyunjoon glanced at them. “What happened?” He asked. 

 

“It’s a long story, you should probably tell us what you found first” Hyuk sighed and sat down next to Haknyeon on the couch, taking a long drink of beer. He didn’t feel like telling them what happened to him just yet even if Jacob and Haknyeon had some idea of what went on. 

 

The youngest from the three of them sat up. “I hitched a ride with the delivery truck, and I saw a list of people they were going to deliver some of the bags and shoes to,” He began to explain. “I looked inside the boxes where the stuff was kept and I saw two things: Drugs and some polaroids of them doing you-know-what to those girls at that Madame Seo’s home, probably,” He revealed. 

 

Hyuk and Haknyeon gaped at her. Jacob even looked up to do the same. “The truck ended at a warehouse where all the drugs are made too. I overheard some old men say that the stuff is known as eso-dust, supposed to give you a little boost in energy, I think” Hyunjoon finished. 

 

“Maybe Madame Seo has more copies of the polaroids, that’s what she’s holding over those guys” Haknyeon said. 

 

“Did you get a sample of the drugs?” Hyuk asked. 

 

“No, I had to leave them there to make sure they would implicate the men when we turn them in” He shook his head. “Why?” 

 

The telekinetic shook his head. “I thought I’d get it to Summerland, have Junhong or Kevin analyze what’s in it after what happened to me.” 

 

The three younger boys now turned to him curiously. “What happened to you?” Hyunjoon asked. 

 

Hyuk still felt so shaken. “I asked if I could see Madame Seo, and I pretended to be Yang Tan’s new associate or assistant. They brought me up to another floor of the store, and let me stay in this room while I waited. They blew my cover, and nearly trapped me in there. I managed to get out of the room but there was this smoke, this thick smoke,” He explained. 

 

Even remembering what happened to him sent a chill down his spine. “I tried not to inhale any of it, but it was impossible, and that smoke made me see things, hallucinate, you know, but I broke out of it and got out, the stairs turned into a slide and I crashed into these two” He finished. 

 

Haknyeon and Jacob nodded. “While we waited, those two clerks at the store started shooting up the place and tried to kill us, but the spell you put on my wings wore off and we killed them in self-defense” Jacob added. 

 

“Maybe that smoke was coming from the drug” Haknyeon shrugged. 

 

“I tried to take a closer look at the drugs, I kept seeing flecks of gold and black too. It’s making me think of what all these things have in common” Hyunjoon’s brows furrowed in thought. 

 

“Maybe” Hyuk nodded. “The three of you should get some rest, we’ll get to Yang Tan’s brother later tonight when he’s at home.” 

 

~ 

 

While the three boys were asleep, Hyuk drove back to Summerland. He wanted to talk to someone, someone who would understand what he saw, what he hallucinated. He knew only three people who could tell him what it was, one of them would most likely know. Jiho was occupied with the album of the group they’re debuting, Chanyeol was busy as well. Jaehwan was nowhere to be found and Mirae was still away, or at least he thought she was. 

 

He knocked on the door upon arriving, and Kevin was standing behind it. “Hey! Come in”

 

“I see you’ve learned to control your mutation” Hyuk commented, noticing that Kevin’s skin was no longer blue. “Is Junhong around?” he asked. 

 

“Yeah, of course. I think you’re the only one who can be able to pry him off of the stuff he’s been building and planning in the lab” Kevin led the way. 

 

“Everything seems pretty quiet” Hyuk said. 

 

“Yeah, since the Bermuda mission and after what happened to Mirae, everyone’s really focused on learning how to control their powers. They’re all in the Danger Room” Kevin explained. 

 

“I thought most of you could do it already” 

 

Kevin shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to learn more. I heard Mirae taught Juyeon a lot about fighting. I’m envious” He frowned a little. 

 

“Yeah she did. Juyeon’s improving, at least that’s what I know. Mirae’s always said if he practiced even more, he could be better than her” Hyuk said. 

 

“I don’t think he could. I don’t think anyone could,” Kevin said. “Mirae’s probably the best fighter I know out there.” 

 

They stopped at the lab, where Junhong was, looking over blueprints and plans. Hyuk tapped on the glass and he turned around. He had a confused look on his face and Kevin left them alone. “I need to talk to you, it’s about the case I’m currently working on,” He said upon stepping inside, the door closing behind him by itself. 

 

“Oh? What’s up?” Junhong rolled up the blueprints. 

 

Hyuk explained everything from the start, making Junhong gape at the telekinetic upon hearing the information. “There’s this hallucinogenic drug involved. This Madame Seo used it on me when I was trapped in the second floor of the store earlier” He said. “But honestly, I was just a little shaken at what I saw.” 

 

“What did you see?” He asked. 

 

Hyuk sat down on a stool. “I saw that I was back at the rubble again, what happened after the Seoul attack when I saw her come out of the rubble,” He looked down in embarrassment. Junhong nodded. “It felt so real. Mirae was telling me that she was glad I was the one she saw when it ended, because if it wasn’t, she’d regret not telling me…” 

 

“Tell you what?” Junhong raised a brow curiously. 

 

“She’d regret not telling me how much she loved me.” 

 

“Loved? You mean like love like a brother? Or best friend or… the other kind of love?” 

 

Hyuk sighed. “The other kind of love. And I didn’t know what came over me because I was telling her the same thing, that I’ve always loved her back but whenever I was going to tell her, we kept getting interrupted, and we kissed! That’s absurd, right?” 

 

Junhong nodded in understanding, tilting his head at the explanation. “Sometimes, the hallucinations in drugs like those tend to make you see what you want. Was that what you’d have wanted to happen years ago?” He asked. 

 

“...Well, maybe. I mean, I did love her, but that love turned into something like she’s my best friend, nothing happened anyway” Hyuk replied. 

 

“Repressed feelings” Junhong deduced, and the telekinetic nodded. “To be fair, I kind of sensed that back then, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions so I just kept quiet about it.” 

 

Hyuk could hear his thoughts. “...You sensed it with her?” 

 

Junhong nodded. “Yeah, I mean, the way she talked to the others about you? Like some school girl crush, but that’s not important anymore, is it?” He recalled. 

 

“Of course it’s not important anymore” Hyuk shook his head. “We’re friends, best friends, almost like siblings now. I’m genuinely happy that she’s happy with Younghoon.” 

 

“Good to know you aren’t planning anything to try and get her” Junhong teased. 

 

Hyuk felt uncomfortable, a lot more uncomfortable than he had ever felt before. Only Jiho knew about his feelings for Mirae before, and those feelings had soon dissipated into something platonic. He would always care for her, but no longer in that way he wished back then. He knew Mirae was the same. 

 

“Of course not. But anyway, about the drug, Hyunjoon said it’s called eso-dust. Do you think you can look it up and analyze it properly?” He asked. 

 

Junhong shrugged. “I could if you had a sample. But I’ll still try to look it up. It won’t take me long, so you can wait for at least a half hour?” He asked. 

 

Hyuk nodded. “I can wait. I’ll just get myself something to eat while I do.” 

 

“You might wanna pay the rest of the people here a visit while you’re at it,” Junhong suggested. “They miss all of you, you know” He added. 

 

The telekinetic got up. “I will” 

 

As he turned to leave, Junhong called him back again. “Hyuk hyung” He said. 

 

“What?” He turned around to the boy genius. 

 

“Be careful.” 


	4. The Weight of a Memory

Hyuk roamed around the halls of Summerland, observing how quiet it was while he waited for Junhong to tell him what he found. He knew the three boys would be up from their nap after the morning they’ve had by now, and were probably either looking for him or doing something on their own. Be careful, was what Junhong told him before the left the lab to wait. It was all he was told by people other than Hyunjoon, Jacob, and Haknyeon lately. He had to be careful. 

 

He knew why he should. What he was trying to tackle was something that involved the entire industry he was in that was way outside of this job as a private investigator. Music was one of his dreams, and being someone in the local music scene was something he had long aspired since he was a kid, since before his powers manifested, and before he even thought of putting his use of his powers to do missions like these. But now that he was already in it, now that he had achieved some kind of success with his dream, the more he was starting to see the dark side of it all. Everything had a dark side just as everyone had a dark side, but this was much darker than he thought. 

 

However, knowing that he was uncovering a dark secret to the industry he was working in, Hyuk realized that all the more it needed his intervention, their intervention. Despite the skepticism of everyone else, Hyuk realized that it could only be solved by people like him. He stopped in front of the Danger Room, and he could hear the faint sounds of yelling and guns being fired. Hyuk turned back and went to the cafeteria instead, hoping to catch a cup of coffee before Junhong came back with the results. 

 

He stepped inside, and to his surprise, he saw Chanhee sitting in the corner with Jinri, eating rolls of kimbap and steak.  _ I miss Jacob _ , he heard her think. It made the psychic smile to himself. Jacob would probably like the fact that she missed him. He didn’t need to read Jacob’s mind to know that he missed her too. Not bothering to greet them, he quietly sat down on the booth seat, taking out a plate of dumplings from the line of boats that were floating on top of a hidden conveyor belt. Hyuk poured coffee in his cup and took a sip. He wasn’t sure if the combination of dumplings and coffee was a good idea, but he needed to be awake enough at least for tonight. 

 

Oh how he missed the days when it was just the four of them. Hyuk decided to tune out the voices he was hearing as he began to eat. “Hyung, hello, is this seat taken?” Kevin suddenly appeared, and the telekinetic shook his head, prompting him to sit down across from him. “Junhong hyung had me help out in checking out what eso-dust is, and he kind of told me what you probably told him…” He looked a little apologetic. 

 

Hyuk sighed and looked up from his meal. “Oh no. Again, I do not have feelings for Mirae, not anymore, alright?” He said, and Kevin nodded in understanding. “Really, I don’t. We’re best friends, and I’m happy for her and Younghoon. Besides, Younghoon can kick my ass just by touching me” He explained. 

 

“Well, I honestly never doubted you, hyung. You two are just friends for sure,” Kevin nodded. “But from what I found earlier after looking it up, the eso-dust you probably inhaled back there has some… magical properties, magical components, something that’s up Hyunjoon’s alley,” He explained. “Fortunately, Ino hyung’s got a lot of books about magical substances, and for a moment I thought I was living in Harry Potter’s world” He added with a laugh. 

 

“Kind of does, doesn’t it?” Hyuk asked in between bites, and the younger boy nodded. 

 

Kevin paused to pour himself a glass of water and took down the bowl of japchae from the boats. “Anyway, I found that consuming a substance like that not only gives the one who took it hallucinations, but it also gives them quite an energy boost, and makes them feel bold, kind of like how people get when they get drunk” He explained. 

 

“Which would explain how confident those guys get when they try and assault those women…” Hyuk muttered. He blinked a few times, trying to shake off Yang Tan’s memories that flashed in his mind. 

 

“Personally, I don’t see the point of this dust. Why do drugs? There’s sugar, there’s chocolate and coffee, and those energy drinks if they want to feel bold” Kevin shrugged while he ate. 

 

The telekinetic chuckled. “Because if they didn’t use that dust, they probably wouldn’t have the courage to. That’s why they call alcohol liquid courage, probably the same for drugs. Powdered courage”He pointed out. 

 

“True,” Kevin agreed. “How are the others holding up? Could they keep up with you?” He asked. 

 

“Oh yeah, they could. Hyunjoon’s pretty much ready to go out on his own if you ask me,” Hyuk replied. “That kid’s very brave, helped us more than he probably thought he would. Haknyeon and Jacob well, they’re still trying to get used to this, but they’re holding up well anyway.” 

 

The younger boy looked relieved. “Good. Ever since they went with you, and knowing that Juyeon, Changmin, and Younghoon hyung don’t live here anymore, the rest of the guys easily get worried now if one of us leaves” He explained with a little sigh. “I guess things have changed a little around here.” 

 

“They really have changed a lot,” Hyuk agreed, looking out the window. “One moment, it was just the four of us fighting off the Utopian cult, the next moment we’re doing our own cases without each other. I kind of miss those days.Granted we only experienced that once, but it felt familiar.” 

 

Kevin nodded, having understood where the psychic was coming from. “Change is the only constant thing” He said wisely and went back to eating. 

 

Junhong came in, holding a piece of paper. He made a beeline for their table, making Chanhee and Jinri look over at them and greet them, coming over as well. “It’s the new drug that’s circulating among the 0.1 percent” He began. 

 

Jinri gasped and nudged him. “What? Hyuk, are you taking drugs?” She whispered. 

 

The telekinetic shook his head, giving her a look. “No,” He turned back to Junhong. “Yes, I know that. It’s why only the very, very rich can afford at least a kilo of that.. It must be how she’s funding everything…” He deduced. 

 

“She? Who’s she?” Chanhee asked this time, looking confused. 

 

“The one we’re after” Hyuk replied. 

 

“Okay, what’s she funding?” Chanhee asked curiously. 

 

“She’s funding a luxury fashion brand. Certainly tried to kill us while we did some snooping around. What else did you find?” He said, taking the piece of paper from Junhong. Kevin looked over to see as well, so did Jinri and Chanhee. 

 

“As what Kevin probably told you, the dust has magical properties. It’s like that kind of drug appeared out of the blue, no facility, not even underground according to the contacts from Jinyi’s lists” Junhong explained. 

 

Hyuk nodded as he read the findings. A bright disk soon appeared and out of it came the figures of Hyunjoon, Haknyeon, and Jacob. All of them looked relieved while Jacob looked especially worried. “We were beginning to think something happened to you” He said, trying to keep his wings still. “You could’ve told us you were going here” He added, looking concerned. 

 

“Sorry, I just needed to talk to Junhong about something personal, but he’s got some information on the eso dust you saw, Hyunjoon” He gestured to Junhong, who then told them what he found. 

 

Jacob and Jinri glanced at each other and looked away from each other at the same time. “Good thing you’re safe” She muttered to him. 

 

“Yes, yes I am. I couldn’t have done it without Haknyeon, nearly getting killed in the store and all…” He said, just as softly. 

 

Hyunjoon raised a brow, upon the mention of magical elements. It was making him think of his vision the other day. It could be related to what he saw. “You mean like as if it was just conjured up out of nowhere?” He asked. 

 

Junhong nodded. “Yeah.” 

 

“Well, the more you mention magical properties, the more intrigued I am getting” Kevin suddenly spoke. Chanhee nodded in agreement. “Hyung,” He glanced back at the telekinetic. “Can we please, please, please help you out? We want in, please?” He put his hands together as if to beg. 

 

Haknyeon chuckled, amused by the older boy’s reaction to Kevin. Jacob and Hyunjoon laughed as well, while Hyuk looked a little taken aback. “This isn’t something only four people can do, though, from what this sounds like,” Jinri said wisely. “Just putting it out there” She added. 

 

“Not even four people with powers like yours,” Junhong pointed out with a grin. “And Chanhee’s been out there in the field before, with Mirae noona and Younghoon, so he’s just as experienced, and quite useful in a case like yours.” 

 

“Kevin can be the resident genius since Junhong hyung has to stay here too” The shapeshifter said. “We can help you out, we know we can” He finished. 

 

Hyuk turned to Jacob, Haknyeon, and Hyunjoon. “Well, what do the three of you think?” He asked. It was just as much their case now as it was his. 

 

“I personally agree. Kevin hyung, Chanhee hyung, and Jinri noona can help us out a great deal,” Haknyeon nodded. “We’ll need all the help we can get, especially with what we’re about to do tonight.” 

 

“Tonight?” Jinri looked fascinated. 

 

“Yeah, we’re checking up on another lead tonight. If there were more of us, I think we can get through the list faster” Haknyeon said, looking back at Hyuk. 

 

Hyunjoon nodded slowly. “The sooner we go through the list, the sooner we’ll be able to put an end to this whole thing…” He muttered. “I agree too.” 

 

The rest of them turned to Jacob. “What do you think?” Junhong asked him. 

 

“We would really be able to go through the list of names faster,” Jacob nodded at Hyunjoon’s explanation. “I agree. Let’s bring the three of them on” His gaze stopped at Jinri, upon realizing what he just said. 

 

_ Are you sure? Won’t it be weird between you and Jinri?  _ Hyuk glanced at him. 

 

_ I’m sure. This is bigger than our history _ Jacob mentally responded. 

 

The telekinetic nodded. “Alright then, let’s get to work. If the three of you want, you can all stay over at my apartment. Or…” He looked at Junhong and remembered something. “The safehouse.” 

 

Kevin, Chanhee, and Jinri cheered. Junhong beamed where he stood. “Don’t we need a bigger car now?” Haknyeon suddenly asked. 

 

“No problem at all. Use the van” Junhong said. 

 

They stared at him. “Van?” 

 

“Van...yes, van” He nodded, his grin growing wider. “I guess now’s as good a time as ever to put the van for a test run.” 

 

~ 

 

They were led to the garage. “I’ve already taken a lot of liberties with your vehicles while you guys stayed here,” Junhong glanced over at Hyuk, who nodded. “Yours and Chanyeol’s. Even the car Younghoon uses with Mirae, but I’ve been building something of my own, in the form of this van, that I think, after I’ve made a few more versions of, one of them can be solely for Bermuda Investigations” He beamed at the thought. 

 

He led them towards a large steel grey van. “Ta-da~” He said. “Made of the same materials I used to pimp out the other vehicles of the Center of Paranormal Research back then, only this one just has more room, and ejector seats” He looked especially pleased at the latter. 

 

“So this was what you’ve been so caught up with doing all this time?” Hyuk asked him. 

 

“Hey, I love my work, as I’m sure you love yours” Junhong pointed out. 

 

The telekinetic shrugged. “With everything I’ve found out, I’m not so sure if I love it anymore” He replied. The taller boy gestured to the driver’s seat and he got on, Kevin, Chanhee, and Haknyeon quickly getting in as well. Hyunjoon opted to stay in the passenger seat and Jacob and Jinri bumped into each other before going in, the two of them catching each other’s glances again. 

 

They went on the road after bidding him goodbye, knowing that Junhong would go crazy trying to upgrade his own car while they were using the van. The sun was on its way to setting. “So where are we going first?” Kevin asked eagerly, looking over at them. 

 

“Back to the office to pick up the file for the rest of you to go through. Jacob, you can go ahead and keep watch over Madame Seo’s house” Hyuk glanced at him, and he nodded. “Do you still remember the way?” 

 

Jacob nodded. “Yeah, but I’ll know I’m there by the rooftops” He replied, sitting back. 

 

“Alright. I think we can split up once we arrive at Yang Jinseok’s house, next up on the list is Song Youngdo, Director of Advertising of the Seoul Central Globe” Hyuk recalled the list as he drove. “Hyunjoon, think you can take on that guy?” 

 

“Mhmm,” the younger boy hummed in response. “He’ll probably crack when he sees Kevin hyung and Chanhee hyung” He was smug at the thought. 

 

“He’ll what?” Chanhee looked horrified. 

 

“He means he’ll probably be too scared that he’ll start talking when he sees both of you, being blue and everything” Jinri explained, and the shapeshifter nodded in understanding. 

 

“Good, which leaves Jinri and Haknyeon with me” Hyuk said, glancing at the two from the mirror. Haknyeon gave a thumbs up. “Be careful, all of you. We can go to Madame Seo’s house when we’re done roughing those two up.” 

 

“Wait, where are the three of them going to stay?” Haknyeon asked. 

 

“Oh right, where are the three of you going to stay? Unless you prefer going back to Summerland every night after we do our investigating? This might take a while but with your help, we can probably get through all of this in a week” Hyuk explained, glancing over at the three. 

 

“We can stay in...uh…” Kevin tried to think. “It depends if your apartment is big. I can stay over” He added. 

 

“Jinri noona is the one I’m more concerned about, don’t worry” Hyuk pointed out, making the girl look at him. 

 

“Does Mirae stay with you when you guys do stuff like this?” She asked. 

 

“The only times we’ve all slept in one place was during the Utopian cult and the Kang Family mission,” Hyuk replied. “And we’ve all just slept in the safehouse. It’s a lot spacious there than it is in my apartment” 

 

“Then why don’t we just stay there?” Jinri suggested. “Oh crap, I forgot to pack.” 

 

“You’re forgetting you have me,” Hyunjoon quickly pointed out. “We can go back and forth for you to get your stuff. We’ll have to stop by hyung’s apartment first to clean up.” 

 

“This is so exciting” Kevin was beaming from ear to ear as he looked out the window. 

 

Chanhee nodded. Jacob and Jinri caught each other’s glances. “You be careful out there later. Watch out for stray bullets or birds or something” She muttered. 

 

“I will, you should too, watch out for anyone who tries to shoot” Jacob nodded to assure her. Hyuk could hear his thoughts.  _ I’m still not over you _ . Jinri nodded and they looked away. Hyuk could tell that they were questioning why they agreed to be in one case together, but he heard Jacob mentally reminding himself that this was bigger than their relationship. He drove on until he parked the van in the garage of his building. 

 

It had gotten dark out, and Hyunjoon accompanied Jacob outside, and after casting a spell on him to turn him invisible, Jacob took to the air, flying upwards and out of sight towards the direction of where Madame Seo’s home was. “Kevin, Chanhee, you two might want to hurry inside the office” Hyuk gestured for them to enter, pointing at the door. The two blue mutants nodded and eagerly rushed up to the front door and opened it. 

 

Hyuk suddenly sensed a weird feeling, and he looked back up at Kevin and Chanhee, who were staring at something inside the office in horror. Haknyeon, Jinri, and Hyunjoon looked up as well. “Hyung, Hyuk hyung,” Kevin said, and pointed to the inside. “I think there’s something you should see.” 

 

The four others went up the stairs and to the door to see what they were looking at. Their whole office seemed to be destroyed. Papers were everywhere, the special phones were cut off, the file cabinets were opened and were burning the papers. “Oh my god” Jinri gaped at the sight, and the sprinklers suddenly came on, putting out the flames from the file cabinets. The six of them rushed in, Hyuk making sure everything else was intact, while Haknyeon made way for the file cabinet and gaped again at what he saw. 

 

“They burned the file, hyung,” Haknyeon said, looking distraught. “They burned the file.” 

 

“Crap” The telekinetic said. 

 

“Whoever they were, they knew we were onto something,” Hyunjoon muttered, as the rest of them tried to clean up whatever they could. “This is not right, I should’ve foreseen it.” 

 

“It’s not your fault if you didn’t,” Jinri assured him. “I don’t think anyone would’ve anticipated something like this happening,” she glanced at Hyuk. “All we can do now is piece together whatever we have left and work from there” She explained calmly. 

 

Hyuk closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was trying not to get angry about this happening. All the more he wished Chanyeol, Mirae, and Jaehwan were here. “Jinri noona’s right. That’s all we can do” He said. 

 

Hyunjoon looked up and waved a hand, making the sprinklers stop. He closed his eyes and waved his hands again, and a cool wind swept through the room, drying everything. “You’ll need to be briefed on what’s going on” He said. 

 

“No problem” Kevin quickly pointed out. 

 

“Good. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we don’t have much time. Let’s split up now. Hyunjoon can tell you everything you need to know on the way to Song Youngdo’s house” Hyuk instructed. 

 

~ 

 

That night, a disk appeared in the middle of the street in front of a townhouse. Hyunjoon, Chanhee, and Kevin appeared from the disk and it disappeared. “So this is the house where Song Youngdo lives,” Hyunjoon looked up at the faint lights coming from behind the curtains on the second floor. “Ready?” He glanced over at the two older boys. 

 

“Ready, let’s get it” Kevin cracked his knuckles. “Do we knock or do we let ourselves in?” He looked at the door. Hyunjoon shook his head. “So we’ll let ourselves in...I get it. Kinda impolite, isn’t it?” 

 

“Trust me hyung, with everything that guy’s done, politeness is irrelevant” Hyunjoon pointed out, and a disk appeared again. The three of them stepped inside, and in seconds, they materialized in the hallway of the house. 

 

Music was playing throughout the house. Chanhee and Kevin noticed the plaques and awards on the nearby shelf, including a family portrait. Song Youngdo was a lot younger than he seemed, with a wife and two children, twin boys, who seemed to be in high school. “Do you think his sons know what their father did?” Chanhee asked curiously, keeping his voice low. 

 

“Maybe, maybe not,” Kevin shrugged. 

 

They looked up, hearing some muffled voices from the second floor. Hyunjoon gestured for them to follow him up the stairs. Kevin and Chanhee followed, keeping their steps as quiet as possible. The closer they got, the louder the muffled voices were, and as they stopped in front of the door where they kept hearing the noises, they stood still, trying to observe what was going on. 

 

“It sounds like someone moaning-oh” Chanhee’s eyes widened as he listened. 

 

Hyunjoon tried to look away despite only being able to hear it. Kevin cringed, looking just as shocked as the shapeshifter as the moaning grew louder. They could even hear a faint squeaking and some grunting. “Oh god!” they heard the woman say. “Oh god!!!” She yelled. 

 

Kevin and Chanhee covered their ears, so did Hyunjoon, who backed away a little from the noises that were making them uncomfortable. “I don’t even want to go in there” Chanhee backed away as well, keeping his ears covered. 

 

“But we have to do this, we can’t leave just because there’s two people...doing it” Kevin stopped the shapeshifter from leaving. 

 

“But they’d be naked in there!” Chanhee argued. “Are we really going to interrogate them while they’re...doing that!” He said. 

 

The squeaking grew louder and Hyunjoon closed his eyes and tried to shut out the noise. “We have to go in, come on, hyungs” He said to them. Kevin pulled Chanhee back and the two of them followed the younger boy to the door. 

 

“Please be done, please be done” Kevin muttered, frowning some more at the noises they were making on the other side of the door. The noises stopped and Hyunjoon muttered a spell, making the doorknob turn and it burst open. The sight before them made Kevin quickly cover Hyunjoon’s eyes as well as his own, Chanhee yelling and doing the same. 

 

Song Youngdo himself and a younger woman whom they knew wasn’t the wife, in a very indecent position. The two of them were frozen, unable to move. “Can’t we get a sheet to cover the...you know whats?” Chanhee asked. 

 

Hyunjoon waved a hand, and a sheet slid out from under the two, covering them up until their necks. “I did it, I did it” He assured the two older boys, who let go and uncovered their eyes. 

 

They noticed Youngdo and the woman, all looking at them while their expressions remained to that of ecstasy. “This is going to give me nightmares for a while” Kevin groaned, looking away at them before clearing his throat. 

 

“Are you Song Youngdo?” Hyunjoon asked the man, and with a wave of his fingers, his expression changed to normal. The woman was still frozen. 

 

“Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here? Freaks” He was staring at both Chanhee and Kevin. 

 

“Freaks? You’re the freak right now” Chanhee pointed out. “And yet you call us freaks when you’re cheating on your wife” 

 

“My wife’s dead, she’s been dead for years” Youngdo spat. “Get out of here before I call the police” He threatened. 

 

“You’re not going to call the police,” Hyunjoon shook his head. “Would they believe you anyway? They’d just think you’re crazy. There are still a lot of people in Korea who don’t believe people like us exist.” 

 

“Well, Mr. Song, we’re not here to cause any more trouble, we’re just here to ask you one thing,” Kevin shifted the subject back. “Min Junghwa. Your name was on that list she was going to prepare before she supposedly killed herself, care to enlighten us?” He asked. 

 

Youngdo rolled his eyes at the three of them. He was in complete disbelief that this was happening to him at that moment. “Look, I worked with Min Junghwa, but I did nothing of the sort to her. I would never sexually harass anyone” He explained. 

 

“You sure about that? Because why would your name appear on that list if you didn’t?” Chanhee asked this time. “Also, please don’t try and lie to us like how you lied your way out of this whole...mess.” 

 

“Junghwa wanted to ruin me because her career was going nowhere! Of course she’d put my name on there for that reason!” Youngdo nearly yelled, but stopped himself from raising his voice any higher. 

 

Kevin, Chanhee, and Hyunjoon exchanged looks. “We’ll need to verify what you just said to us” Hyunjoon cast a spell on him, and the mirror on the ceiling began to change. Clouds and smoke were forming in the reflection and the three of them looked up, including Youngdo, who was beginning to look horrified. 

 

The clouds and smoke soon revealed what looked like a video of a party. A much younger Youngdo was sitting on a couch surrounded by strobe lights and women. He was being given a line of golden powder on a tray and he snorted the line up, sitting back and taking a deep breath as the effects of the powder sunk in. One of the women was Junghwa, who nervously stepped forward. “Do you want to be an actress? I can make you big, with the connections I have” 

 

“Please don’t- please don’t” Junghwa was muttering. 

 

Youngdo gave her a look, and laughed out loud. “Come on, you have a pretty face, and I’m pretty sure you’ve got,” He looked her up and down. “A lot of potential. I can see you do, I can help you” He took her hand. 

 

A woman in a leopard-print coat gently pushed Junghwa forward. They could see how nervous and afraid she looked. “Is it always like this?” She managed to ask. 

 

“Why yes, my dear, it is always like this. It has always been like this. No one in this industry could be truly successful without a little…” Youngdo touched her thigh, his hand sliding up her skirt. “Help.” 

 

Kevin and Chanhee were getting even more uncomfortable. Hyunjoon on the other hand, was getting just as angry as he knew Hyuk was. Youngdo was beginning to look at the three of them nervously. The images soon blurred down and changed, showing what looked like one of the bedrooms of the house he was in. He was sexually assaulting her. They could hear Junghwa’s cries clearly. 

 

The clouds and smoke blurred out the images again, and the mirror returned to normal. The three of them stared at Youngdo. “Not cool, not cool at all” Kevin muttered, shaking his head. Chanhee was also looking at the older man in disgust. 

 

“You’re a poor excuse for a human being” The shapeshifter shot at him. 

 

“Consumed by your greed and power, tell us why we shouldn’t hurt you right now” Kevin shot at him as well. He cracked his knuckles, and Hyunjoon could hear him growling softly. 

 

Youngdo was unable to speak. He was still staring at them in horror over what they just did. “We now have you dead to rights, there’s nothing else you can say to justify your innocence” Hyunjoon said quietly. He was shaking his head slowly. “You’ll hear from us again, but by that time, you’ll also be surrendering to the police.” 

 

“Oh-Oh yeah?” Youngdo managed to say. 

 

“Yes,” Hyunjoon nodded. “As you have seen, we have ways of revealing the truth. You’ve got nowhere to go, and you can no longer get away with what you did. We will know if something happens.” 

 

“Who’s the freak now?” Kevin asked pointedly. 

 

Hyunjoon cast a spell on him again, and his expression returned to what it looked like when they caught him before. The three of them quietly left the room and closed the door behind them, in time for a disk to appear. “If this is what’s been happening behind the scenes, I can only imagine what else Hyuk hyung is going to find in the other guys’ heads” Chanhee still looked disgusted as they stepped on the disk and vanished. 

 

~ 

 

Hyuk, Jinri, and Haknyeon quietly entered the townhouse of Yang Jinseok. “Noona, whatever you may find out after this is going to make you very angry, just an advanced warning” Haknyeon whispered to her. 

 

“I am very aware of that, Haknyeon, but thank you for the heads up anyway” Jinri assured the younger boy and they went down the hall, looking around for a sign of the man. “Seems pretty quiet, isn’t it?” 

 

“It’s even more concerning if it is” Hyuk pointed out. 

 

“Do you think we should split up and search the place?” Jinri suggested. 

 

“We can’t. We have to be together” Haknyeon shook his head. 

 

Hyuk could sense a presence, as if it was lurking behind them. All the lights suddenly went on, and he heard a gun cocked. “Trespassers” He heard a man say. 

 

The three of them slowly turned around and saw the figure of Yang Jinseok himself, holding them at gunpoint. “You must be Yang Tan’s brother, just the one we’re looking for” Hyuk said calmly, somehow relaxing in front of the man. 

 

“Better start telling me who the three of you are and what you’re doing inside my home? You’re committing a crime, you know? Trespassing, breaking and entering private property. Give me answers, now” Jinseok threatened, seemingly backing them into the living room. 

 

Haknyeon and Jinri tried to stay calm, but Hyuk knew that they were panicking internally.  _ Hyung, hyung, what do we do? How are you so relaxed? _ He heard Haknyeon think out loud. 

 

_ Trust me, the two of you _ , Hyuk thought, as he pulled them to either side of him. He waved a hand and the gun flew out of Jinseok’s hands and was now hovering in the air. “Do you have a permit for that?” Jinri managed to ask this time, pointing up at the gun that was now above their heads. 

 

Jinseok looked taken aback at what happened, and especially at the sight of his own firearm above them. “So, it’s safe to say that the people you’re trying to threaten are not ordinary people,” Hyuk said, making him even more shocked. “Like I said, you are just the person we’re looking for. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable while we ask you some questions?” He suggested, remaining calm, and one of the chairs slid out towards him and he slumped on it. He was sliding back into the place where it was originally positioned. 

 

Jinri and Haknyeon seemed to have relaxed now that they managed to overpower the man. “Who we are is not of any importance to you, you can be sure of that” Jinri said. 

 

“Your name is on Min Junghwa’s list” Haknyeon said bluntly. “The list of executives, people in positions of power, that sexually assaulted her throughout her career and especially in her early days,” He explained. “The list that was found before she supposedly killed herself.” 

 

“Care to explain that? Oh and, try not to lie, will you?” Jinri said, giving him dagger looks. “We’ll know if you do, so you better start singing.”

 

Jinseok stared at them and shook his head. “You will never get anything out of me. You’re digging your own graves if you even try.” 

 

Haknyeon and Jinri turned to the telekinetic, and then back to him. “You sure about that? We can do this the easy way, or the hard way” Haknyeon said this time. “Believe us when we say that the easy way is very easy, and the hard way is going to scare you.” 

 

“Nothing scares me” Jinseok replied stiffly. “I am being watched over, I am saved, regardless of whatever you try to do to me” His voice began to soften and his tone began to change, as if he was reciting a chant or mantra. “You are not, you are going to meet your destruction” His expression changed. 

 

Jinseok’s eyes seemed to be glazed over, and he was staring at them in a way that made him look like he was hypnotized. He no longer looked shocked because of their use of powers, but he began to look like someone who had gone insane. “He’s not going to say anything, you might as well get it out of him now” Jinri suggested to Hyuk. 

 

“That’s what I’ve been thinking too” Hyuk said, and he stood behind the man, placing his palms a few inches away from both sides of his head. He didn’t care if Jinseok wasn’t relaxing. They didn’t have all night to do this, and they were all rather tired from the day they’ve had. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. 

 

He could see it all. His memories of Junghwa. It was as if he was there in the room where indecent things were happening. Hyuk looked away as flashes of images of Jinseok trying to make passes at the woman were continuously all he could see. But in the midst of seeing what happened to Junghwa, he also realized he took part in assaulting the other women mentioned in the file he had. 

 

Jinseok was sexually assaulting not only Junghwa, but also Na Youngji, and two other women in their line of work, singers Heo Dayoung and Lauren Ahn. The singers had also committed suicide, and were under the same company as Junghwa and Youngji. 

 

Hyuk’s eyes shot open. He couldn’t take what he saw anymore. His expression stiffened and he turned to Jinri and Haknyeon with a nod. Jinseok had stiffened up in his place, panting and looking at the three of them with a horrified expression on his face. “Tsk tsk,” Jinri shook her head at Jinseok. 

 

“What did-what did you do?!” Jinseok sputtered, still staring at the three of them in horror. 

 

“We found out the truth. You did take advantage of those women” Hyuk replied coldly. He stared at Jinseok, who was suddenly floating off the floor. Jinseok’s arms and legs were being spread out, and they could hear a faint ripping sound while the man was groaning and crying out in pain. “You had a hand in their deaths” The telekinetic said, and Jinseok yelped even more as his arms and legs were being stretched. 

 

“Hyung,” Haknyeon turned to him. “Hyung” He said, but Hyuk kept staring at the man coldly, the anger boiling and bubbling inside him. 

 

“Hyuk” Jinri was beginning to look worried again at what was happening. “Hyuk” She went up to him and patted his shoulder. “We just came here to ask him questions, not torture him” She calmly reminded him. 

 

“Hyung, please,” Haknyeon gently said. They heard bones cracking and Jinseok was struggling even more. “Hyung, stop” He said. 

 

“Hyuk, it’s time to stop” Jinri reminded him again. 

 

The telekinetic blinked a few times, not realizing what he had done. Jinseok fell to the floor, limp and too weak to speak but was still looking incredibly frightened. “You’re digging your own graves, the three of you” He muttered. 

 

“Ours? Or yours?” Hyuk asked, and went up to him. “You will hear from us again. In the meantime, you should probably get comfortable while you’re still here, walking like a free man…” He pressed a finger to his head, and Jinseok collapsed, unconscious. 

 

“Without Hyunjoon, he’ll tell the police what happened here” Haknyeon whispered to him when he went back to them. 

 

Jinri looked back at the man on the floor. “If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t dare say anything, not even to Madame Seo” She said. 

 

“I hope you’re right” Hyuk said to her, and he led the way out of the house and back to the car. 

 

~ 

 

All of them, including Jacob, were unable to say anything to each other when they assembled at Hyuk’s apartment later that night. They were all very shaken from what they had to do, most especially Haknyeon and Jacob. The seven of them quietly boarded the van again, Hyuk leaving a long note for Midam while he slept, telling him where he was and who he could turn to. He figured that if Midam needed anything, he could easily go to Juyeon, Changmin, and even Jihoon, which was especially important in case of an emergency. 

 

Hyuk parked the van  in front of a wall that had a vending machine and got down. “Ooh, a secret entrance?” Kevin broke the silence, excited at what he was seeing. 

 

“Yep” Hyuk only replied, and pressed one of the buttons. The vending machine moved to the side, revealing a dimly-lit hall that had a red door at the very end. 

 

“This was where you guys went to during those times?” Chanhee was also amazed. “Junhong hyung never said anything to us about this.” 

 

“Maybe for a good reason” Jinri pointed out, as they all followed the telekinetic down the hall, the vending machine closing behind them. “For now, this is where we’ll be sleeping, I guess” She said. She caught Jacob’s glance, and their fingers brushed against each other. 

 

The telekinetic stopped in front of the door and opened it. As he expected, the safehouse remained well-maintained and clean. “The beds are in that room, but some of us can sleep on the couches, I’ll sleep in here” Hyuk pointed to the door at the end of the kitchen. It was the room where the computer system was installed, with an extra bed. “Take a shower, freshen up, we’ve got a few more people to interrogate tomorrow, alright?” He instructed, and the rest of them agreed, splitting up. 

 

He stepped inside the room with the computer, the door closing behind him and locking itself. Hyuk didn’t want to be disturbed. He wanted to center himself again. He could hear Kevin and Chanhee’s thoughts earlier, and saw what they had seen when they interrogated Song Youngdo. 

 

Hyuk took out his phone, looking through the messages of the group chat he shared with Chanyeol, Jaehwan, and Mirae. They preferred keeping this group chat between the four of them, and thus didn’t add Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin. He missed them, even if he didn’t want to say it out loud. 

 

To him, it was always the four of them ever since they decided to take on the Utopian cult. While he was perfectly okay with Juyeon, Younghoon, and Changmin joining them now, he much preferred it to how it was back then. But of course he knew that was no longer possible. It dawned on him how much things have changed for the four of them, for everyone he knew. Hyuk knew what Mirae might say if he told her how he was feeling. 

 

“It just means we’re growing” 

 

He also knew what she would say if he told her what he was taking on. 

 

“I’m scared for you, but you can do it.” 

 

He knew what Chanyeol and Jaehwan might tell him as well. 

 

“You need to be careful, man” 

 

“Yeah, what he said” 

 

Hyuk slumped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The whole computer system turned itself on. All he wanted to do was to shut out everything he found over the past two days. All those thoughts and memories were too much for him to bear, but he knew he had to carry on, to at least give the victims some justice. 

 

He closed his eyes, trying to tune out all those voices and memories from those people. As the night went on, he couldn’t sleep, remembering how his anger was getting ahead of him earlier. Hyuk got up and out of the bed and as he opened the door, he saw Jacob and Jinri in the kitchen, kissing. 

 

Hyuk closed the door quietly, so as not to disturb them or everyone else. As much as he was happy for them, the weight of this case was making him feel anything but.


	5. Getting Personal

Kevin got up from the couch with a yawn. Despite the events of the night before, he still managed to sleep peacefully, or as long as he could. Reaching for his glasses, he put them on and looked around. Hyunjoon was still dozing off on the other couch, Jinri and Haknyeon were on the two beds in the sleeping quarters, Chanhee was sleeping on a makeshift bed with the cushions and Jacob was covered by his own wings as he slept in the corner. “What time is it?” He looked around and stopped at the clock by the kitchen. 10 a.m. 

Even if they didn’t do much, the stress from the night before made him feel like he’d been running for hours. Kevin figured it was the same for everyone else, especially Jacob, who had been using his wings for hours trying to watch the activities that were happening in Madame Seo’s home. 

They were still a long way away from solving the case, but Kevin preferred to think that they were just being very thorough with what they were doing. He looked around in the kitchen for the coffee, brewing a pot for everyone to get from later. While he waited for the coffee to brew, he crept into the bathroom to freshen up and take a shower, getting ready for whatever they may be up to later on in the day. 

The door of the sleeping quarters opened and Jinri came out. She could smell the coffee brewing and went towards the room she knew Hyuk was in. She knocked on the door gently and it opened. “Hey,” She said quietly. “You up?”

Hyuk was staring at the ceiling. “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep last night” He said. 

She nodded. “Well, if you’re up to it, Kevin’s got coffee brewing and I think he’s already showering. I’ll make us breakfast” she said. 

The telekinetic sat up. “I’ll be there in a bit, I just need to,” He looked around. “Clean myself up.” 

Jinri tilted her head. “I’ve always been curious. How do you telepaths manage to shut everything out? Hearing our thoughts must be a burden to you all the time” She asked carefully. 

He shrugged. “A lot of time, patience, and practice,” He said. Hyuk looked up at her. “Can I talk to you for a bit? Come in and close the door” He added. 

She nodded again and quietly closed the door behind her. Jinri sat down on the chair. “What’s up? This whole case troubling you?” She asked. 

Hyuk nodded slightly. “Not just that. But, you know, I’m just overwhelmed by how everything’s changed so much.” 

“Since our time at the Center?” Jinri raised a brow. 

“Well, that was mostly you guys,” Hyuk pointed out. “But pretty much around that time, I knew about you guys a little halfway. But it’s surprising how much has changed over the years… it’s been what? Two and a half? Three years now? Four?” 

“Give or take, yeah” Jinri nodded. “I know how you feel. It makes you regret how much you took that time back then for granted. I do miss the others” She said quietly. “I do miss how we were still so new at this.” 

“Have the others ever contacted any of you again?” Hyuk asked, and she shook her head. 

“I think the Seoul attack seemed to decide that this kind of life, the life we’re currently living, is not the life they want anymore” Jinri wisely explained. 

“That early on, huh?” Hyuk asked. 

She nodded. “Pretty much, but we were there for a year, two years already when things happened. I guess some of us who do have powers are better off… not using them” She said with a shrug. “It seems like a waste of potential, if you ask me, but if that’s the way they prefer to live their lives, who am I to stop them?” 

The telekinetic leaned against the wall. “With great power comes great responsibility” He muttered. 

“Bingo” Jinri said. She could tell how he was feeling. “You know, it’s okay to feel like this.” 

Hyuk shook his head. “Somehow I don’t feel okay with that. All of you, all of them, they’re all turning to me, like I’m some kind of leader…” 

“Aren’t you?” Jinri smiled. “I mean, between you, Mirae, Chanyeol, and Jaehwan, you seem to put yourself out there, leading them, this isn’t any different” She pointed out knowingly. 

“But it’s different with them, I just experienced more with them, and we all just seemed to know what to do whenever something like this came up” The telekinetic shrugged. “I guess all I’m saying is… I’m just overwhelmed by the change. Do things have to change?” 

She nodded. “That’s just how it is in life, Hyuk.” 

She was right. As time went by, Hyuk knew that they would be off doing different things, with different people. Their world was expanding and he was trying his best to keep up with the big changes in his life and everyone else’s. A part of him wanted to drop everything and go back to his life as a producer and occasional singer, but another part of him, a bigger part of him wanted him to keep going, at least this time. But he had made that choice not long ago, to go down the path where his powers took him. Hyuk felt vulnerable, more so knowing that the things he knew, about his other life in the music scene, was not what it seemed. “This is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done on my own, solving a case like this” He muttered. 

Jinri nodded. “Same with us, and we haven’t even solved it with you very long” She said with a laugh. “How did you guys even manage to go up against people like them?” She asked in amazement. 

The telekinetic shrugged. “I guess it was because we knew it was the right thing to do, it was the only thing to do, and only people like us could do it…” 

~ 

“I hate to be the asker of information we’d rather not know, but did we make progress last night?” Hyuk asked a while later at all of them over breakfast. 

“Well, yeah, confirmed his name on the list and everything” Hyunjoon nodded. 

“That’s just him sparing you all from the other details that have scarred our brains forever” Chanhee pointed out. 

“Why? What happened there?” Jacob asked curiously. 

Hyuk nodded after hearing what the shapeshifter meant. “Oh” He cringed. “Well, it goes to show that Junghwa was right in coming after these guys we’re looking for” He said. 

“I’m still confused, what happened back there at Song Youngdo’s place?” Jacob asked again. 

“For everyone’s knowledge, we…” Kevin began, shaking his head at the thought of it all. “We walked in on him and his mistress…. Copulating,” He replied carefully. “Fornicating, mating, to put it simply-” 

“They were doing you-know-what” Chanhee finished. 

The older boy gaped at him, then cringed. Jinri looked horrified, as did Haknyeon. Hyunjoon kept shaking his head in disgust as he ate, as if trying to get rid of that image. Hyuk put his chopsticks down. “I think everyone gets the picture now” He said. “So, we’ve managed to get through to three people, three people, out of thirty people on that list. But the list got burned down along with the rest of the possible evidence we have on that file given to us.” 

“Don’t you think we should also find whoever gave us that file in the first place, hyung?” Haknyeon asked. 

Hyuk nodded. “I guess that now that there’s more of us, we can probably do that. I hate that I can’t even remember who else was on that list, but we probably should” He said. 

“Okay then, so how did that file end up with you?” Jinri suddenly said. 

“Well, I was at a recording session for the group we’re debuting at the company,” Hyuk began, tucking back into his food. “The guard dropped by, gave me a package, it had my name on it, it looked like it was scribbled onto it” He said. 

“Then we ask the guard” Kevin figured, and they nodded. 

That made Chanhee squint at the thought. “Could the guard have known something then?” he asked them. “What if he’s the one who actually gave it to you? Like it came from him?” 

“Maybe, there’s only one way to find out” Hyuk said. “We’ll go to the company. Jiho’s probably already there, that guy does not sleep a wink at his apartment anymore.” 

“We’re going to an actual entertainment agency!” Jinri and Kevin squealed in delight. “Will we meet any celebrities there? Wait, didn’t you say Kim Dongyoung is under your label?” Jinri asked. 

“Dongyoung? Oh, Doyoung, yeah. But he’s working with another producer of ours, Shin Hyoseob” Hyuk nodded. 

“Doyoung! Right!” Jinri said. “I love his songs. Isn’t Jaehwan also under your label?” 

“Yeah, he used to, but you know what happened” Hyuk replied. “He hasn’t been seen in a long time, I wonder what happened to him…” He muttered, then sighed. “If only my telepathy had a wider reach, I could at least be able to contact him.” 

“What if he’s on a case too, like you?” Jacob suddenly pointed out. 

“Possible, we’ve gone days without talking on the phone. That’s how people can track us down, you know” The telekinetic nodded. He looked at his now empty bowl. “I guess we’re all ready to take on today. We’ll leave for the company in a bit.” 

The rest of them cheered in their seats as they happily cleaned up. 

~ 

With Hyunjoon’s help, Jacob managed to fit his wings back before they arrived at TRBL Music. Hyuk looked at the entrances for the same person who gave him the file, and spotted the guard who had given it to them. Kevin and Jinri looked around in amazement. “Hey, you,” He said. 

The guard bowed to them right away. “PD Kwon, good morning” He said. 

“We need to talk to you for a moment, may we see you in those rooms there?” Hyuk asked. “They’re all with me by the way” He gestured to the boys and Jinri behind him. 

“Hyuk! You’re here!” Jiho suddenly spotted him as he was coming out of the elevator. He looked at the rest of them in confusion. “Oh? Did you personally recruit new trainees?” He asked. 

Hyuk shook his head. They’re helping me solve the case, he thought, and Jiho nodded upon receiving the message. “We’re just here to ask about something” He explained. I’ll try and tell you later. 

His producer friend nodded again. “Well, if you guys haven’t had lunch or anything at all, help yourselves to the food in the cafeteria” He said to the rest of them before walking off to another room. 

“Food?” Haknyeon’s ears perked up at the mention. 

“Food” Jacob repeated. 

The guard graciously nodded, and took the initiative to lead them to one of the meeting rooms nearest to the cafeteria. The smells of food were wafting throughout the space where they saw employees on the tables, eating their meals. They sensed that the employees were looking at them as they went on their way. The guard closed the door behind them. “How may I help you, PD Kwon?” they asked. 

“I received a parcel a month ago, you were the one who gave it to me, do you remember that?” Hyuk asked. “It felt a little flimsy, and my name was scribbled on the top wrapper,” He added, in the hopes that the guard understood. “Do you remember that?” He asked again. 

“Yes, I do” The guard replied. It was me, I gave it, Hyuk heard their thoughts, but he figured he pretend not to know. 

“Who gave it to you? What did they look like?” The telekinetic asked. The guard didn’t answer. 

“Do you…” Jinri began. “Not remember who gave it to you?” She asked carefully. 

“I do. It was me, I was the one who brought the files” The guard admitted. 

“Brought the files from someone? Or did it come from you?” Jinri asked this time. 

“It came from me,” The guard began to soften towards them, but kept their speech formal. “I was the one who put all those files together,” They explained, looking down. “Jung Yujin is my brother.” 

The seven of them gaped at the revelation. “Jung Yujin? The police officer who supposedly committed suicide?” Kevin asked. 

The guard nodded. “Our own local police force won’t do anything, and I hear people talking, people from the outside, where I live, that you and those three other people you’re friends with, are also private investigators,” They explained. “I also heard that you’re also more than private investigators, you can do things no other person can…” They glanced at Hyuk. 

“So you thought you’d come to us, right?” Hyuk said, and the guard nodded. Please help me, he heard. 

“With everything that’s happened in this country over the past few years, your help is more important than ever,” The guard said. “Please help me, all of you, so there can be justice for my brother and for everyone who became a casualty in this whole thing, to put an end to this madness that’s going on in the industry that I know so many people are passionate about” They pleaded. 

“You have a way with words” Chanhee suddenly quipped, and Kevin nudged him. “What?” He mouthed. 

“Well, it might trouble you to know that our offices were broken into, and the file is now burned, or most of it” Hyunjoon explained quietly, and the guard looked at him with a horrified expression. “But, luckily for you, we were able to come after three of those men on the list Min Junghwa left, and it is true that they assaulted her.” 

“How powerful is this Madame Seo? What does she have that makes people bow down to her like some kind of god they need to worship?” Jinri asked, keeping her voice low. 

The guard shook their head. “She’s powerful, she’s got everyone wrapped around her finger. She uses celebrities like pawns, all in exchange for absolute immunity from the law, while the ones she uses gain sexual pleasure…” They explained, muttering the last few words that made them cringe. 

“We can see that, or we have seen it…” Haknyeon pointed out. 

Jinri’s brows furrowed. “So, we’re dealing with a bunch of horny, middle-aged men playing so dirty just so they can get laid? Pardon my language” She glanced at Jacob, who shook his head. 

“It explains a lot, especially from what we’ve seen” Kevin agreed. 

Hyunjoon glanced at the window pane at the end of the room. He began to see images swirling all around it, until it showed him a lot of hooded figures in masks bowing down to another figure in a mask, wearing a leopard printed hood in the middle of what looked like a courtyard of a traditional-looking house at night. They were bowing down to the floor in front of the other figure, as if worshipping them. 

He blinked, and the images vanished, and everyone was staring at him. “What’s wrong?” Haknyeon asked him. 

He couldn’t hide that information anymore. “I saw it again…” He muttered. 

“Saw what?” Jacob asked this time. 

“Before we left the first time, I had a vision, a premonition, but I couldn’t understand what it was so I didn’t say anything,” He began. “Now I saw the same vision again, and it’s telling me what I’m seeing, what I just saw, is related to what we’re doing” He looked at the older boys, Jinri, and the guard. 

“Well? What was the vision?” Jinri stared at him. 

“It was in the traditional village, in the middle of this house, like a courtyard, or a palace, closed off, and people in hoods and masks were bowing down to this one person wearing a hood and mask. Leopard-printed too” Hyunjoon said. 

Jacob and Haknyeon exchanged knowing looks. “Your jeans!” The older boy said. 

“Jeans? We didn’t buy jeans from that store!” Haknyeon pointed out. “They tried to kill us in there, remember?” 

“Yes! But didn’t we almost buy jeans from that place? You said something about how the Montague logo was a leopard and if you had your own fashion brand, you’d have a pig on the logo,” Jacob tried to recall. “Remember?” 

The younger boy slowly nodded, remembering what happened. Hyuk seemed to get what they were saying too. “The room they led me to, had a leopard-print couch, at first I was thinking that they probably have a leopard-print theme…” 

Chanhee, Kevin, Hyunjoon, and Jinri were also coming around to figuring out what they were talking about. The guard still looked at them with a hopeful expression. “What are we dealing with exactly? A cult?” Jinri asked. 

“I think we are, but this isn’t an ordinary cult, this is like… this is more than what the Utopian cult was,” Hyuk said, and he slowly looked at Hyunjoon. “Do you know what we’re dealing with? Why do I have a feeling this is something up your alley?” 

Hyunjoon looked at all of them, as if trying to figure out what he saw, trying to piece everything together. “It is possible we’re dealing with another cult, one that deals with religion, not a kind of ideology” He explained quietly. “I need to figure out what kind of cult that would be… I’m just as stumped as the rest of you are” He finished. 

“So what do we do?” Chanhee asked, a hint of panic in his voice. 

“Well,” Kevin suddenly spoke. “Premonitions mean the future, near future, so it’s possible what he saw could be what’s going to happen tonight” He said. “Especially now that he’s seen it twice, the first time meant that we might end up there, this time, it could mean that everything will happen tonight.” 

Hyunjoon nodded. “Tonight’s the night things might happen, but I don’t think we can sit around and wait, there must be something more to what I saw, and what we have to find…” He said. 

The telekinetic looked at the rest of the group again. “I guess this is when the fighting begins” He said quietly. 

“Fighting? You mean actual fighting?” Jinri said, and he nodded. 

“No doubt those people at that place have bodyguards, if my hunch is right, those men are the ones bowing down, and Madame Seo is the one they’re worshipping…” Hyuk said. He turned to the guard. “You might have to help us too.”

“Sure, anything” The guard suddenly said. 

“When all this is over, I must ask you never to tell anyone, that it was us who solved the case” Hyuk said firmly. 

“But why not? The government should give you credit, the anti-corruption commission and the president will give you honors” The guard asked, looking taken aback by the instruction. 

“Just don’t. Public recognition is not something Bermuda Investigations takes pride in, we would rather be recognized as silent workers rather than public heroes” Hyuk explained. It was an unwritten rule amongst them, to stay in the shadows rather than be known by the whole country and even the world. Being placed in the spotlight was not something they wanted. “Please, don’t tell anyone that it was us who solved it all, you should know by now that I can read minds, so I will know if you did” He added firmly. 

“Hyunjoon will be able to get memories out of you too so we will have another way of knowing” Jacob suddenly pointed out. It was a sensible request to him. He escaped to Summerland, knowing that the attention he received back in his home for having wings grow out of his body was anything but positive. Kevin felt the same thing, especially after being made fun of for his blue skin. 

The guard held up their hands, understanding where they came from. “I promise, PD Kwon” They agreed.

Hyuk nodded. “Alright then, for now, we get Haknyeon an extra pair of jeans. I realize all this time we haven’t gotten him anything yet” He said. 

“I will keep a lookout on Madame Seo’s house again” Jacob suggested. 

“No, you can’t, we’ll be seeing them later,” Jinri grabbed his hand. “And it’s too dangerous for you to be seen in broad daylight flying around, what if people decide to shoot you down?” 

Jacob squeezed her hand, catching her gaze. He felt the same way even if he thought it was something he could do while they waited for night to come. Hyuk could even hear their thoughts. 

I don’t want to lose you, he heard. 

Haknyeon, Kevin, Chanhee, and Hyunjoon seemed to be thinking the same thing. “Maybe you two should probably get back together, hmm?” Chanhee pointed out. “It’s clear that both of you still have feelings for each other” He added. 

Jinri let go of his hand, the two of them unable to say anything. “You two already are back together” Hyunjoon teased, looking very smug. The two of them turned pink. 

“Good, finally, then we should focus on tonight” Kevin nodded, and they all agreed. “Hyunjoon, can you bring me back to Summerland? I think we need a little bit more...firepower.” 

“Firepower? We’re not going to use guns, are we?” Jacob asked. 

“We are, kind of,”Kevin explained. “Remember those guns we had back in the Bermuda mission? Those were filled with sleeper rounds, I just need to get some of them back in the lab” He said. 

“Didn’t you say you upgraded them?” Jinri asked. 

“Yeah, maximum sleeping power, they’d be woozy for days” Kevin beamed. 

“But if those are rounds, wouldn’t that kill them too?” She said. 

“Not if they turn into fumes at close range after being fired” Kevin replied. 

~ 

While Hyunjoon teleported Kevin back to Summerland, Jacob, Jinri, Chanhee, Haknyeon, and Hyuk bid the guard goodbye and left the company. “Let’s go get something to eat nearby, I like the safehouse and all, but can we eat something different?” Jinri suggested as they stepped out, her pinky finger linked with her boyfriend’s until they were holding hands. 

“Yeah, my treat” The telekinetic nodded, and stopped in his place as his phone rang. Hyuk looked at the number and saw it was from Midam. “Hello? Did you get my note? You can call Juyeon, Changmin, and Jihoon if you need anything. Mirae and Younghoon too, in case they’re back” He said. 

“Hyung, hyung, I think I might be in danger” His cousin replied, sounding very shaken and very afraid. “I think my debut is in danger, so are you” He added. 

“What do you mean?” Hyuk asked. 

“They found out I was related to you, and they told me to come to this village and I found out what they were doing, what they plan on doing tonight, I saw their desires, their fears-it’s not good hyung, it’s really not good, they think I know too much,” Midam’s voice cracked, sounding like he was crying. “Hyung” 

Hyuk felt his heart jump at Midam’s explanation. “Where are you now?” He asked. 

“At the company, hyung-” and the line was cut off. 

The telekinetic felt his heart pounding in fear. The worst happened. “Things just got personal, they took my cousin” He muttered. 

All of them gaped at him. “They took Midam hyung?” Haknyeon asked, shocked. “But why?” he asked. 

“They know he’s my cousin, and from what I can tell, they’re taking him to that traditional village tonight. His debut is at stake, his group’s entire debut is at stake” Hyuk explained. 

“Hyung, you don’t think that maybe-” Jacob began picking up on what the older boy said. 

Chanhee glanced at him. “Religious cults might have sacrifices… could it be that your cousin is to be sacrificed?” He turned back to the telekinetic. 

Hyuk nodded. “The only question is where they’re keeping him for now until tonight” He said. “We can check his agency” 

“Bingo! Chanhee hyung will go then” Haknyeon pointed out. 

The shapeshifter looked a little flustered at the sudden appointment. “The other question is… who am I turning into?” He asked. 

“Who’s the CEO of Midam’s agency?” Jacob asked. 

“That’s what the office is for, let’s go” Hyuk said, leading them back to where they parked the van. “You think you can wear those jeans one day more?” He asked Haknyeon all of a sudden. 

“This is more important than pants, hyung, let’s go! Who knows what could happen to your cousin!” The younger boy said.

“Then just borrow mine, you can keep it too” Hyuk said hurriedly as they all opened the doors and got in. 

~ 

The five of them arrived at the office and went straight for the computer room. There were still some scorch marks on the walls and some on the furniture, but most were still intact. Hyuk knew Chanyeol, Jaehwan, and Mirae will all be in for a surprise knowing what happened to the office, but there was no other time. They went up the stairs to the room that had the computer and gathered around it while the telekinetic sat down, typing the name of Midam’s agency. 

“You think you can pull this off?” Jinri asked the shapeshifter. 

Chanhee nodded. “I’m ready. I’ve been through worse, with Mirae noona, how bad is this going to be?” He said. 

“The security there might kill you” Haknyeon teased. 

“Don’t psych me out of this!” Chanhee nudged the younger boy, and stopped when he saw the picture of another middle-aged man come up on the search results. 

“I kind of feel bad I don’t know what Midam’s group is going to be called” Hyuk kept typing, hoping to get the answers that he was looking for. He was getting worried about what could be happening to his cousin. “The guy’s name is Noh Hodong, he’s the CEO…” He looked back at the younger boy. 

Chanhee took a closer look at the picture. “His name sounds smelly” He commented, making Jinri and Haknyeon snort in laughter. “A smelly guy needs a smelly name” He sighed, and in seconds, he transformed into the man himself. “Does he talk in a certain way? Like an accent?” The shapeshifter asked. 

“Just talk the way you usually talk, no one’s going to notice any difference because you look and sound like their CEO” Jacob said, and Chanhee nodded. 

The bright disk appeared and Kevin and Hyunjoon materialized, both of them holding big bags. “What’s going on?” They asked. “We got the stuff, by the way” Kevin added. 

“Midam hyung got kidnapped and we have a feeling he’s going to be sacrificed to that cult” Haknyeon explained. 

“Midam? Your cousin?” Kevin gaped, while Hyunjoon looked stunned. Hyuk nodded. “How? Why?” 

Jacob began to explain, and as soon as he was finished, they were all out the door and on their way to the agency. Hyuk’s heart was pounding as they all got in the van. He was worried for Midam, afraid of what might come out of this whole ordeal, concerned about what might happen to them after this, and angry from what those men had done. 

This was slowly becoming too much to think about. Once they were done, Hyuk planned on going on a vacation. He now knew how Younghoon and Mirae felt after their case, and he realized just how well they seemed to work as a group rather than by themselves. But at the same time, he also knew that they couldn’t always work on something together. Kwon Hyuk was fighting off so many thoughts, so many doubts in his mind, and it was the first time in a while that he felt a lot more helpless. 

~ 

They parked their van in the alley nearest to a cafe that was a few feet away from the building of Midam’s company. They looked out of the window. The company had a very modern design from the outside, with more than a dozen floors that they figured were very spacious, one of those floors being the pool and the gym. “Showtime” Kevin turned to Chanhee, who nodded. 

“Hold on,” Jinri said, making the boys look at her. “Don’t you think we should make sure if that CEO is away or something?” She asked. “Chanhee might get caught if we don’t make sure.” 

“Good idea, let me make a phonecall” Hyuk took his phone out, but Kevin held him back. “What?” 

“Use the burner phone” The younger boy opened the glove compartment, revealing a slightly old-fashioned looking mobile phone. “They won’t be able to trace the call that way” He added. 

“Smart” Hyuk looked impressed and dialed the number. “Too bad there’s no speaker phone” He said, hearing the phone ring on the other line. He put a finger to his lips at them to keep quiet as he heard someone pick up. 

“CEO Noh Hodong’s office, who am I speaking to?” A soft female voice said on the other line. 

Hyuk had to think fast. “I am calling on behalf of Song Youngdo, the Seoul Central Globe Director of Advertising. Mr. Song would like to know if CEO Noh is available today for a meeting?” He said, trying to be as formal as possible with his speech. Chanhee, Kevin, and Hyunjoon cringed upon remembering the name. 

“I am sorry, CEO Noh is currently unavailable, would you like to schedule an appointment?” The voice replied. 

“Unavailable? Is he away?” Hyuk tried to get more information. 

“Unfortunately he is. Would you like for me to take a message instead?” The female voice asked this time. 

“No thank you, goodbye” Hyuk hung up. He looked back at Jinri and the younger boys. “He’s away, the coast is clear. Chanhee, you know what to do?” He asked. 

The shapeshifter nodded, and with a sigh, transformed into a splitting image of the CEO himself, but a little fidgety. “Be confident!” Jinri assured him. 

“I will try!” Chanhee pointed out, his manner of speaking surfacing despite the change in his voice and appearance. “Find out where your cousin is being held, then leave, right?” He asked the telekinetic, who nodded. 

“Hyunjoon, why don’t you bring him inside. Bring him to the CEO’s office?” Jinri suggested. 

Hyunjoon nodded. “Let’s go, hyung, I can cover for you too in case we get caught” He explained, and Chanhee gave a thumbs up. A smaller disk appeared in the middle of the van and Hyunjoon pulled the shapeshifter within it, the two of them disappearing as the disk floated off the floor and vanishing. 

“Okay, now they’re there, what do we do?” Haknyeon asked the older boy. 

“It is possible the two of them are going to get caught. The most we can do now is sneak inside” Hyuk explained. “Or the rest of you can go from the roof, I’ll go to the back” He added. 

“How are we going to up to the roof? The fire escape?” Kevin looked confused. 

“Yes, and no” Hyuk pointed out. “I’m telekinetic, remember?” He said. 

“That sounds awesome” Jinri grinned at the thought. “Do we do that now?” She asked this time. 

Hyuk looked out the window and at the areas nearby. It seemed quiet, and no one aside from the usual passersby and the employees from the shops were around. Kevin’s mutation was controlled as well, so he was able to blend in like everyone else. “Yes, we do that now. The worst that could happen is that we get attacked, and we’ll have no other choice but to fight back in case that happens, so keep on your guard” He explained, and they agreed. 

“Oh yeah, bring those sleeping guns with you, all of you should have one” Kevin said, pointing to the bag, while Haknyeon distributed each pistol. “Hyunjoon and Chanhee will be fine anyway” He added. 

“Let’s go” Jacob opened the door, and the five of them got down. He looked over his shoulder in case his wings would end up growing out again. Jinri gave him an assuring pat on the shoulder while they walked, the two of them somewhat slowing down to let the others go ahead of them. 

“So… about last night…” Jinri said quietly, glancing at him. “We kind of...just kissed out of the blue, huh” 

“Yeah, we kind of did…” Jacob nodded slightly. 

Jinri looked around and over her shoulder. “..I know we...ended things because I thought we were too different, and that the whole age thing makes our situation awkward in front of everyone…” 

He only nodded, but he looked slightly hurt. “You know age doesn’t matter, I’ve been telling you that, ever since we got together, even while we were together, and who cares if we’re too different?” He said, frustration evident in his voice. “You and I are both different, yes, that’s true, but we’ve never been normal, look at us, being different is who we are, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you, I can’t not love you just like that after you ended things, it doesn’t work that way…” 

Jinri felt her eyes welling with tears at his words. ‘She knew it was true. She looked down and wiped the tears. 

Jacob grabbed her hand, making the two of them stop. “Song Jinri, I still love you, and I still care about you, and you know you still feel the same about me, if that kiss last night was anything to go by. You can’t tell me you don’t because I know you wanted that to happen too...” He said quietly, a little surprised at his own sudden boldness. 

She was also taken by surprise at his action, but before she could say anything, they saw Haknyeon waving them over to hurry up. “Let’s just go” She muttered, and as Jacob let go of her hand, she walked ahead. 

Hyuk seemed to have overheard their conversation as he saw them arrive last after them, but he thought it wasn’t right to pry anymore. Tuning their thoughts out, he looked at the very high fire escape staircases at the back of the building. “Do you think Chanhee and Hyunjoon made it inside by now?” Kevin asked, mentally examining how high the staircases went through the windows. 

“I don’t know, I can’t read their minds, but I’m sure they made it inside… they’re probably trying to look for Midam right now” Hyuk shrugged, the fire exit door opening in front of them. “Oh, looks like we don’t need any flying after all” He said. 

“I think we still need some flying,” Kevin said. “The CEO’s office is a little high up.” 

“How high?” Haknyeon asked. 

“Middle. I’m guessing this is a 20-story building, so the tenth floor is where his office might be” Kevin said. “We’ll climb up ten stories just to reach the two of them.”

“If we can even get that far, the thought alone is making me tired” Haknyeon frowned slightly. 

Hyuk sighed and turned back to them. “Let’s just do this. Midam might not have much time, they might take him away and-” He stopped and stared at the sky, seeing the clouds swirl and the sky change color. 

The rest of them stopped and stared at the changing sky as well. “Yeah, we really don’t have much time anymore, it seems like the event will start a little early” Jinri said, almost gaping at the sight of the sky above them. It was reminding them of the Bermuda mission all over again. 

“In case we get tired, I can fly us up to the floor one by one,” Jacob suggested. “I just hope my wings don’t get stuck in between if it grows out on me by now.” 

“We’ll have that as a last resort, let’s go inside” Hyuk muttered, and hurriedly led the way, the door closing behind them in time. 

“Why am I getting the feeling that something may be lurking in here?” Haknyeon muttered as they began to climb up the staircase. 

“What do you mean lurking?” Kevin asked. 

“You know, lurking. I mean, when Jacob hyung and I waited for Hyuk hyung in the store, we nearly got killed, and we couldn’t go up to him because for some reason, they turned the staircase into a slide” The younger boy explained. “Hyuk hyung even got caught in booby traps while he was up in another part of the store” He added. 

“Then we’ll just hope nothing happens to us and we just get exhausted from all these stairs” Jinri assured him.


	6. What Do You Fear?

A disk appeared in the middle of a dimly lit floor. Hyunjoon and Chanhee materialized, the shapeshifter having transformed into the company’s CEO. “Do you know what Hyuk’s cousin looks like?” Chanhee whispered to the younger boy as he tried to stay calm. 

 

“Yeah I do, don’t worry about that,” Hyunjoon assured him, muttering a spell that made them invisible in front of the reflective walls of the floor. “Just act casual, don’t panic, we’ll find him here somewhere, he probably is still here” He said. 

 

The two of them froze when they saw some employees at the end of the hall, all of them looking very flustered. Chanhee and Hyunjoon tried to stay calm, in the hopes that they wouldn’t be seen, and crept past them towards the sleek black door at the end that had a gold nameplate of the CEO’s name. “You might as well try and sense for another presence?” Chanhee turned to the younger boy. 

 

“I’m not telepathic, hyung, the most we can do is hope right now that we find out where they’re keeping Midam hyung” Hyunjoon pointed out. He tried to turn the knob and the door opened. The office was huge, very in keeping with the modern design. One part of the office was a big shelf with all kinds of figurines as well as albums from the company’s artists. Poster-size photos of the artists were hung on the other side of the office, including the awards the company has won. “Seems like Midam hyung went into a big company” He commented. 

 

“Summerland does tend to make us out of touch with what’s happening on tv and the internet, doesn’t it?” Chanhee asked, closing the door as quietly as he could behind them. 

 

“Not really, our powers are just more interesting than what’s happening on tv” Hyunjoon said. He made a beeline for the desk and the computer and sat down to turn it on. “There must be something in here, right?” He glanced at the shapeshifter, who nodded in assurance. Hyunjoon paused at the sight of the password protected page. “Password, password” He looked around, hoping to find the answer. 

 

“Maybe his birthday?” Chanhee shrugged. 

 

“I don’t know his birthday” Hyunjoon gave the older boy a sheepish look. “Maybe his name?” He said, and typed it. There was an error. “This is going to take us a while” He muttered. He tried typing the name in all capital letters. Still an error. “This isn’t case-sensitive, is it?” 

 

Chanhee opened all the drawers and paused when he saw packets of golden powder with black specks. “Would these be the drugs?” He asked, putting the packets on the table and stopped again when he saw what was underneath. “Oh my god, why do I end up being the one who sees stuff like this?” He looked away and sighed. 

 

“What kind of stuff- Oh” Hyunjoon looked into the drawer as well and saw what the shapeshifter came across. Racy polaroids of him and a much younger woman, not older than her early twenties. He sighed as well and looked at the packets. “...On the bright side, we’ve got proof the CEO’s under Madame Seo’s clutches” He said, keeping his voice low. “Put that away, hyung!” He said, and Chanhee closed the drawer with a slight thud. 

 

“Shouldn’t we get these as proof?” Chanhee asked. 

 

“No, we’ve got our own proof to turn in, we need to catch them in the act before they dispose this if they’re aware that we’re onto them” Hyunjoon shook his head, staring at the blank, trying to think of the password. He tapped the keyboard, trying the CEO’s name over and over again, but failed. 

 

“Don’t you have a spell?” Chanhee looked a little frustrated. “A spell to unlock technology things?” He added. 

 

The younger shook his head. “No, it only works on physical locks like that lock on the door of Song Youngdo’s home” He explained. “I can’t use it on locks like these.” 

 

The two of them froze when they heard footsteps coming from outside. “Crap, we have to hurry” The shapeshifter panicked. “The password!” He whispered. 

 

The door suddenly opened and two employees came in, a man and a woman. The two of them froze. “Where’s his stash?” The woman whispered, the two of them sauntering towards the desk. 

 

“I know for a fact he keeps it in one of his drawers in here, otherwise, the old man probably snorted it all” The man laughed, and Hyunjoon slid back in time. Chanhee realized that they still couldn’t be seen, but the chair moved, making the two employees stop and stare. 

 

“Was that you?” The woman said to the man, as they began rummaging through the top drawers. 

 

“It was the wind. Boss likes having the AC on in the room on full blast” The man mumbled. “Aha! I found them!” He said, holding up the packets of gold dust. 

 

Chanhee and Hyunjoon stood in the corner of the room, frozen, and watching the two employees form lines with the dust on the table. “Powdered courage, they say this stuff is” The woman inhaled as if it was her first moment of being able to breathe fresh air. She watched the man snort up the other few lines in a kind of blissed out state. 

 

“Why don’t we have some more fun in here while the boss is away?” The man asked her, wiping his nose of the powder that remained. 

 

“What do you mean?” She asked. 

 

“We could disrupt the cleanliness of this room, you know? If the cleaning guys come here, we’ll just say it’s how he left it” The man replied. 

 

The woman laughed loudly. Chanhee and Hyunjoon inched towards the door, somewhat quietly coming to same idea upon watching the two. He transformed back into the image and likeness of the company’s CEO, and glanced at Hyunjoon, whom he was sure remained invisible. “Excuse me?” He said, trying to sound as confident and as imposing as possible. 

 

The man and the woman froze, nearly swiping away the lines of powder towards the floor. The bowed profusely. “CEO Noh” They kept saying, and Chanhee could hear them sniffle and wipe their noses. A few seconds later, they softened up, snickering amongst themselves as they straightened up in front of him. “CEO Noh, you can’t fire us, because it’ll only implicate you, we’re going to tell you have the drugs” The man said, almost taunting. 

 

“Who said I was going to fire you?” Chanhee asked with a brow raised. “The least you two could’ve done was make it look like you were never in here, now, I seem to have almost forgotten what I was going to ask. Where are the boys?” He asked. 

 

“Boys? Which boys?” The woman asked. 

 

“You know which boys I’m referring to. I was so preoccupied with work that I forgot which room the boys were placed in today” Chanhee quickly explained. “One of those boys is related to that guy Kwon Hyuk” He specified. 

 

“Oh, oh, Midam and his group mates, we had them taken to the practice rooms in the fourth floor. They’re not coming out of there until tonight, as per your instructions” The man replied. 

 

Bingo, Chanhee thought. “Good, good. Clean that mess up, I want it to be spotless when I come back” He said. “A billion won’s worth of dust all over the floor… that stuff’s hard to get you know, and you wasted that...” He muttered under his breath as an added touch, calmly walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. 

 

Hyunjoon locked the door as they walked away, as a way to keep the two clerks as evidence. “That was close, good job hyung” he assured the older boy. 

 

“Thanks, now do we meet up with Hyuk hyung and the others or do we go straight to the practice rooms? It’s six floors down” Chanhee asked this time. 

 

The two of them paused. “Fire exit first, we can teleport in that room later” Hyunjoon said, and they burst through the door of the emergency exit. 

 

~ 

 

Meanwhile, Hyuk, Jinri, Haknyeon, Kevin, and Jacob were still in the midst of climbing the fire exit stairs. “What floor are we on? Please tell me we’re halfway at least” Haknyeon was becoming out of breath, stopping in his place. 

 

“I need to do more cardio…” Jinri held onto the railing, out of breath. 

 

Hyuk stopped as well, as did Jinri. “We’re…” He looked at the sign that he spotted on the door. “Fourth. We’re on the fourth floor” 

 

A bright light came from the staircase above, making them look up. “Guys? Guys?” Chanhee’s blue face came into view from the railings. “Guys!” He called out, Hyunjoon appearing as well. 

 

“What happened? What did you find out?” Jacob asked, sighing in relief. “Oh no, oh” He felt a lump on his back, some feathers falling out from under his shirt. “I’m beginning to molt” he shook some more feathers out from under his clothes. 

 

“Midam hyung’s being kept in one of the practice rooms” Hyunjoon revealed. “Fourth floor.” 

 

Hyuk sprinted up the remaining stairs and bumped into the door. Chanhee and Hyunjoon hurried down to follow, nearly jumping two floors down as they did it. The telekinetic stood back and let the door open itself. 

 

They found themselves in what seemed like the very end of the long and dark hallway. Hyuk closed his eyes, trying to find Midam somewhere from the long rows of doors, all of which were painted black set against a ribbed wall as well as posters of the company’s artists.  _ Come on Midam, where are you _ , he thought, hoping for an answer or at least it reached him. 

 

Jinri stayed behind Jacob, partly trying to catch any feathers that might fall out from under his shirt. Their hands were poised over the pistols that contained the sleeper capsules. “Where are they?” She whispered, all of them taking careful steps down the hall. 

 

“Hey! Who are you people?” Someone yelled. 

 

All of them turned around and saw the same employees Chanhee and Hyunjoon encountered in the office. You have a group of boys hostage, Hyuk said to them telepathically, and the two employees gaped at them. “M-mutants?!” The girl shrieked. 

 

“Yes, mutants” Haknyeon said, and Hyunjoon sent them towards the wall with a hex, the two of them crashing into it, turning unconscious. 

 

Kevin looked up at the security cameras. “We’ll be surrounded when they see this” He said. The sky was turning darker as well, and he noticed hints of red lightning appearing in the sky. 

 

“Let them. We’ve got a bone to pick with them anyway” Hyuk said, and all the doors in the rooms burst open. “Midam! Where are you?” He called out, but there was no answer. 

 

They scattered and looked inside the rooms, skidding to a halt at the room in the middle. It was Midam and his groupmates, all bound and gagged. Some of them were crying in fear, including Midam himself. A group of people in dark robes whose faces were obscured were standing behind the group. “Mutants!” One of them hissed.

 

“Mutants, that’s right!” Hyuk made them fly back towards the wall, Hyunjoon sending a hex towards them as well to keep them there. One of them got back up again and took out a metal device from their pocket and pressed a button. 

 

A loud sound vibrated throughout the room, and Hyuk began to feel light-headed. Chanhee’s shapeshifting fluctuated as he collapsed on the floor. Jacob and Hyunjoon fell over as well, so did Jinri. Haknyeon staggered until he collapsed as well, while Kevin was nearly falling onto his knees as the sound kept reverberating throughout the room, his skin turning blue again as he fell to the floor. Hyuk tried to make the device fly out of the person’s hands but before he knew it, he was knocked out. Midam had also collapsed, making his groupmates worry and stare at him in fear and shock.

 

“Bring them to the village, it seems that our ritual might take place a lot earlier than expected” The one holding the device said. 

 

“Madame Seo will be very pleased to see that we’ve got more than we need as a sacrifice” Another one from them said. “It seems that one of the children is also a mutant, why am I not surprised. Bring them out of here and to the village immediately, we will waste no more time, we’ve waited for this moment long enough.” 

 

The rest of the robed figures were pushing and grabbing the boys, including an unconscious Midam, towards the exit. The boys were groaning and squirming in their places, crying for help and looking back at the group that had been knocked out. “There’s no use trying to ask for help. You trained here for years, no one’s going to come save each of you” One of the robed figures said to the boys. 

 

~ 

 

The sky was changing once more, lightning and thunder were becoming more evident as ever. The inky-blackness was turning into a vibrant crimson, and Hyuk’s eyes fluttered open, all of them slowly gaining consciousness and getting up, holding the sides of their heads and parts of their bodies that they landed on. “What was that? What were they holding? What happened?” Haknyeon grumbled, staggering to his feet. 

 

“Some kind of device that only targets people like us, I’m afraid” Kevin replied, rubbing his temple, his skin fully blue. “Must be a Kang family invention or something.” 

 

“Kang family? You mean the ones we fought off?” Hyuk asked. He wasn’t surprised if it did come from them, from people who managed to steal their plans of anti-mutant inventions. He realized that the family’s influence still remained even after their capture and imprisonment. 

 

“Yeah, same ones,” Kevin said, brushing himself off. “Midam hyung would’ve been affected by it too, and now they’re gone and we’re stuck here” He looked around. 

 

“Where would they be bringing the boys now?” Jinri asked, helping Jacob up. 

 

“The village, where it’s all going to happen” Hyuk immediately knew. “They might plan on having the ceremony take place earlier.” 

 

“Then let’s hope they haven’t started without us” Hyunjoon said, and a disk appeared in the room, all of them hurrying inside and vanishing, reappearing in the alley where they parked the van. 

 

“I’ll go ahead, all of you meet me there” Jacob nodded. He turned to Jinri and kissed her. “In case anything bad happens, at least we happened” He murmured, and took off into the air, his large wings coming into view yet partly obscured by the darkness in the sky. 

 

Jinri watched him fly into the distance and quickly collected herself as she got inside the van, closing the door behind her in a rush while Hyuk drove off quickly. “Noona, Jacob’s going to be safe, he knows what he’s doing” Hyuk quickly assured her, and she figured he heard her thoughts. She nodded. 

 

“To be honest, I don’t know if we’ll know what we’re going to do” Chanhee said, worry evident in his voice. “Run and shoot?” He asked. 

 

“Knock them all unconscious, yeah, and maybe even kill someone, preferably that Madame Seo” Hyunjoon nodded, holding onto the armrest as the telekinetic made sharp turns and swerved lanes. “Madame Seo, Madame Seo, leopards, what’s the connection between them?” He muttered. 

 

“I don’t think having a thing for leopard or animal prints is it” Kevin overheard him. “The leopard prints must mean something, for one, who are they worshipping?” He asked, in the hopes that the younger would be able to figure it out more. 

 

Hyunjoon tried to think, while keeping still in his seat. They had reached heavy traffic. “Oh for crying out loud, this is going to take us forever” Hyuk said, looking at the amount of cars that were in front of them. It looked like it would take a while before everything moved. “Subway, anyone?” He looked over at them. 

 

“No need” Hyunjoon cast a spell and to their surprise, there was no car in sight. “Drive, hyung” He said, and Hyuk stepped on the gas, driving as fast as he could. They were running out of time. They needed to get to Midam, and save him and his group mates while putting an end to the potential destruction once and for all. This was no longer just about giving the victims of the system the justice they deserved, but rather to save everyone else who was under the system as well. 

 

In minutes, they had arrived at the village that Hyunjoon was talking about in his premonition. They saw luxury cars lined up against the pavement. Hyuk parked the van a few streets away. This was what his case was building up to. He was nearly there, very close to uncovering the biggest secret the entertainment industry had been hiding for years, maybe decades. He was doing this for Midam, for the group his company was debuting, for everyone in the company, for everyone else in the other entertainment agencies that was innocent. He looked over at the rest of them and at Hyunjoon. “Ready?” 

 

All of them looked at each other, and then back at him. “Ready” Haknyeon nodded. 

 

“Okay, let’s go” He said, and all of them got down. Kevin and Chanhee remained in their blue forms, hands poised on their sleeper guns. Haknyeon was taking deep breaths and Jinri kept looking up at the skies for a sign of Jacob. 

 

They saw a few suited bodyguards standing in front of what seemed to be the entrance to the home where Hyunjoon’s premonition would take place. They saw a van pull up, and Hyuk immediately spotted Midam’s unconscious figure being carried inside, along with the rest of his groupmates, some of them now had puffy eyes from crying, and were harshly being pushed inside by the robed figures from earlier. 

 

Hyuk felt the anger seep through him upon spotting his cousin being treated that way. “We need to show evidence of this to the authorities, does anyone have a recording or something?” He said. 

 

They all shook their heads. “Leave that to me, when all of this is over” Hyunjoon said. He was still thinking about the connection between Madame Seo and all the leopard-printed items and symbols she had with her. From the leopard printed furniture, to the logo of her fashion brand to the robe she seemed to be wearing in his premonition to the interior of her home according to Jacob, Hyunjoon kept thinking about it. He knew there was something, but he couldn’t point his finger at it exactly. 

 

“Let’s just go in there casually,” Chanhee suggested, feeling a sudden boldness the more he observed the robed figures enter the home. “We don’t know what they might make your cousin and his groupmates get into, we have to know what kind of cult we’re dealing with” He whispered. 

 

“Religious, remember? If Hyunjoon would know what it is, perhaps a demonic cult?” Kevin glanced at the younger boy. 

 

His question made Hyunjoon gape at them. The answer was there. “Demonic?... Now I know what we’re dealing with” He said. “I’ll explain when we get inside. Is there a back entrance?” He asked. 

 

“There’s always a back entrance, or at least a side entrance” Kevin observed the house. “A back entrance can lead to the kitchen” He said. 

 

Hyunjoon shook his head. A disk appeared behind them. “We’ll go inside directly. I can see where we’ll end up” He said. He thought about his premonition. Everything was going to take place at what seemed like the yard of the house. “Let’s go in” He said. 

 

Hyuk nodded and stood on the disk, the rest of them following shortly after. The disk floated and they vanished, reappearing inside a very dark room covered in paper screens. He looked around, trying to feel for a presence of Midam or his groupmates. They were about to split when they suddenly heard a very low chant coming from outside. “...Ose?” He said, being able to make out what the people were chanting. “...Ose?” He glanced at Hyunjoon, knowing that the younger boy had the answer to his question. 

 

“That’s who they’re worshipping” Hyunjoon replied. “Ose is a fallen angel, known to take the form of a leopard when roaming the earth,” He explained. “Ose also happens to be a president of hell.” 

 

Haknyeon, Chanhee, and Kevin felt the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on end, and shivers down their spines. “President?” Kevin asked, in disbelief. 

 

“President. He’s Lucifer’s second-in-command, his right-hand man,” Hyunjoon explained. “Ose is a dangerous one.” 

 

“You don’t need to tell me twice, I can already tell from your explanation” The shapeshifter remarked, rubbing his arms. 

 

The chanting grew louder, and they heard footsteps approaching the room they were in. Hyuk eyed the door, keeping it closed as the footsteps grew louder. He concentrated on the door and on the windows, making it resist to any force whoever was about to come in was going to put on it. 

 

“Have you met Ose?” Haknyeon whispered to the younger boy. 

 

Hyunjoon shook his head. “I’ve only seen him, but we have never met” He replied blankly. 

 

“Wow, your childhood is a lot more disturbing than I thought it was” Chanhee said, and Kevin shushed him. 

 

All of them stood together, keeping still and silent as they saw someone try to slide the door to the side but can’t. “It’s stuck” They said. 

 

“Stuck? Impossible” Another voice came up, and its figure approached the door as well. It tried to slide the door open, but Hyuk kept it closed. “Something must be stuck in there if it doesn’t slide…” 

 

“We should call for help” The first voice said. 

 

“No, the ceremony is about to begin, we mustn’t be late” The second voice said. “Are the boys prepared? Given a dose of the dust?” They asked. 

 

“Madame Seo insists that she give it to them personally” The first voice replied. “They are all strapped to the slabs for now” They explained. 

 

Hyuk was getting angrier the more he listened, and it was taking everything in him to resist torturing or killing the people they could hear talking. The thought of wanting to kill them all had crossed his mind several times after they kidnapped his cousin, but he knew better. Hyuk kept his hold on the doors that remained closed. As the footsteps faded, and the chanting grew louder, he stopped his hold on them. Jinri touched his arm. “I know what you might be feeling, and all I can tell you is, whatever dangerous thought you might have after listening to them, letting them live with their crimes is a greater punishment. Killing them means giving them the easy way out” She murmured. 

 

The telekinetic nodded at the older girl’s words. “What do we do now?” Haknyeon whispered. 

 

“We try and stop them just before they give the boys the dust” Jinri suggested. “Although I don’t know when that’ll happen, but they did say Madame Seo, whoever she is, will be giving it to them personally.” 

 

“She might try and control Midam if she finds out what he is” Hyuk picked up on what she said. “Any ideas?” He looked at the rest of them. 

 

“Ambush?” Kevin shrugged. 

 

“If we take them by surprise, Madame Seo might force the dust down their throats… or noses” Hyunjoon said. “She’s too dangerous to ambush, she might kill them.” He explained. 

 

“Then what do you think we should do? Hyung, what do we do?” Haknyeon turned to Hyuk. “Midam hyung and his groupmates don’t have much time.” 

 

Hyuk scanned their expressions, but it made him realize that he was at a loss of what to do. It made him think of Chanyeol, Jaehwan, and Mirae. The four of them always had a plan, if one person didn’t know, someone else from the four of them usually knew another way. This time, he realized that they were all on the same page, not knowing what to do, including Jinri, whom he knew was still worried about Jacob being seen up in the sky. A loud thunder clap erupted from the sky, and not even that gave him an inkling of what the best plan to face off with the cult was. 

 

“If I may,” Kevin suddenly said. “Why don’t we disguise ourselves?” He suggested. 

 

“Okay, are there any extra robes lying around?” Hyuk asked, looking around at the room they were in. It was like a bedroom, but there were no wardrobes in sight. Kevin shrugged and shook his head. He glanced at the paper walls, and the chants earlier were growing louder, louder than ever, as if they were about to summon an entity. It was then that an idea formed in his head. “Now, I have a plan.” 

 

~ 

 

All the robed figures were bowing continuously to the leopard-print robed figure in front of them. They continuously chanted the name, while Midam and his groupmates watched them, too stricken with fear to even react or register what was going on. In front of the one in the printed robe was a table full of small crystal vials filled with a gold liquid. Midam saw that there were black bits in the contents as well. The figure then raised their hands, revealing nails that were painted red, along with sparkling jewelry on their wrist. They lowered their hoods, revealing a woman with dark brown hair that fell on her shoulders, upturned eyes with lips painted a vibrant red. “Tonight is a sacred night, a special night” She declared, in a commanding voice. “Tonight, our master, is giving you all the highest form of protection,” She went on to say. “Through me, you will be safe, from whatever obstacles you are to encounter. You are all saved!” 

 

The rest of the robed figures nodded, followed by a resounding “Hail Ose” 

 

“As an offering to our master, these ten boys will be given the gift, they will open their eyes and they will succeed in their endeavors” She turned around, looking at all of them, her gaze stopping at Midam. “Oh, especially this one,” She said, walking up to him. “You are a special one, aren’t you?” She asked. 

 

Midam didn’t say anything, and instead avoided her gaze, trying to look at everyone else. “Ose would be pleased to find such a specimen; young, able, and most of all, a mutant” She hissed. Madame Seo turned back to everyone else. “For the greater good.” 

 

“The greater good” The rest repeated. 

 

“It’s only fitting that he be given the gift first! We’ve got a gifted one on our hands” Madame Seo grinned, holding up one syringe. Midam’s eyes widened at the needle that was squirting out some of the gold liquid. She turned around. “This will not hurt a bit, at least I don’t think it will, master will be so proud” and she lowered the syringe onto the side of his neck. 

 

Midam felt a sharp sting. His eyes teared up at how helpless he felt, unable to move, unable to speak. He stared at Madame Seo in horror, feeling the liquid go cold through him, until all of a sudden, the rest of the syringes flew out of the table, including the one that was still injecting liquid in him. 

 

“Madame Seo” Hyuk suddenly appeared in the middle of the crowd of robed figures. The syringes were floating and were pointing towards her as well as the people at the front. “This ends tonight.” 

 

“So it seems,” She looked unfazed. “Unfortunately, it might have just begun for your cousin” She added, pointing to Midam, who was beginning to look pale. 

 

Hyuk glanced at the background. “It will still end tonight. I have you dead to rights, none of you will be able to escape now.” He said. 

 

“Is that so? You seem pretty naive for a producer” She commented. She looked at her watch. “Six seconds.” 

 

Hyuk tried to read her mind. “You seem pretty naive for not knowing who you’re dealing with” He replied. “Midam!” He called out to his cousin, who was beginning to shake in his seat, his eyes suddenly glowing as some of the guards untied him and removed the gag in his mouth. His group mates watched him, horrified of what they were witnessing. 

 

“Tell me, Mr. Kwon,” She suddenly said. “What is your greatest fear?” 

 

Midam was staring at him. Hyuk shook his head, and kept trying to shake off the sudden heavy feeling that came over him. “Midam! Midam!” He called out again, but it began to feel like a lost cause. 

 

~

 

All of a sudden, everything went dark. He found himself in the midst of a war zone, but the more he looked, the more he realized that he was back in their part of the city, full of torn-down buildings and piles of rock and debris. Hyuk felt an intense fear come over him, as he noticed what was on the ground. 

 

He saw the bodies of Jaehwan, of Chanyeol, the two of them lifeless. There was blood on the corners of their mouths and the sides of their heads. Chanyeol’s metal bracelet had melted off. “Oh no” He said, and the feeling intensified when he saw a familiar looking silver object a few feet from where Chanyeol and Jaehwan lay. “No…” He felt his heart pounding, as he took a closer look. 

 

It was a staff, and a foot away from it was Mirae, her lifeless body next to Younghoon’s. “Mirae…” He stammered. 

 

Hyuk could feel his eyes well with tears as the more he looked, the more bodies he saw. Juyeon’s, Changmin’s, Jihoon’s, even Jiho’s, and now, including Junhong’s, Jinri’s, Jacob’s, Hyunjoon’s, everyone he knew, dead. All of them were bloodied. “No, no, no!” He yelled. “This is not real!” He yelled again, hands on his temples. 

 

“Not real! Not real!” Hyuk kept on yelling. “NOT REAL!!!” He shouted from the top of his lungs. “Midam! Stop it!” He called out, shaking his head in an attempt to shake off the fear he was feeling. 

 

_ It will be real if you try and stop us _ , He suddenly heard her thoughts. 

 

“Midam, stop it! It’s me! Your cousin!” Hyuk fell to his knees, trying to telepathically get through to the younger boy. “Midam!!!” He called out, but it seemed to be of no help. 

 

_ Stop us, or you watch them die by your hands _ , He heard her thoughts again. Hyuk could feel himself losing control, of being unable to do what he willed himself to do. “No, this is not real, this is not real” He kept telling himself, shaking off the feeling. He closed his eyes, trying to shield himself from Midam’s intrusion. 

 

_ Midam, you’re better than this, fight the dust, fight whatever she put into you _ , He thought. 

 

_ Hyung _ , Hyuk’s eyes opened when he heard Midam’s thoughts as well.  _ Hyung, help me, please, I can’t seem to control my powers _

 

_ Midam, fight it _ , He thought.

 

_ I-I can’t _ , and the more he was able to get through to the younger boy, the more the images, the more the illusion began to fade. _ Fight it, Midam _ , Hyuk kept thinking, until he was back in the yard, surrounded by the robed figures, including Madame Seo, who was now looking at him in shock. 

 

Midam seemed to have snapped out of it. “This can’t be!!” Madame Seo bellowed. “You are doomed! Doomed forever!” 

 

Hyuk removed the robes and hoods from everyone else, exposing the faces of everyone he knew that was on Junghwa’s list. He eyed his cousin, who nodded, feeling intensely calmed and relieved. “Am I? Or are you referring to yourself?” 

 

Out of nowhere, Hyunjoon, Haknyeon, Jinri, Kevin, and Chanhee appeared, shooting their sleeper rounds towards the figures. Midam hurried to untie all of his groupmates, but was held back by some of the guards, who were pointing their guns at him. “Not so fast!” Jacob swooped in, striking them with his sharp feathers. 

 

“Jacob!” Jinri said, relieved at his appearance. She blasted off another oncoming guard as well. 

 

“I was wondering when the rest of you would show up” He said, and the two of them hugged, fending off two other guards that were behind each other’s backs. 

 

The figures seemed to have dodged the sleeper rounds. “You think you can knock us out like that?!” Madame Seo roared. 

 

“Maybe not with these guns, but with something else” Hyuk sent her flying towards the slabs that Midam’s groupmates were getting away from. All of them crowded around in one corner, avoiding the crossfire as everyone began to attack. 

 

“It’s like Christmas with everyone on the list being present!” Haknyeon blasted off a few in the face. 

 

“Yes it is!” Chanhee yelled, hitting the other attackers with the base of his sleeper pistol and shooting the guards on standby in the face, knocking them out. 

 

“You fool!!!” Madame Seo growled, getting back up on her feet, but was knocked down again when Hyunjoon sent a hex her way. She got back up again, and this time, she was growling and glowering at them. In the midst of the chaos, she began to transform, until Hyuk found himself face to face with a giant leopard with glowing red eyes. 

 

“Uh oh” Hyuk said, making the leopard levitate and keeping its hold on her. The ground began to shake, but he maintained the hold. “Hyunjoon! Do something!” He called out to the younger boy. 

 

Hyunjoon sent a few more hexes towards some other attackers, while Kevin and Chanhee tied everyone up all together. A surge of red light was coming from the ground where the leopard was floating, causing more thunder and lightning. “Long time no see, Ose” He said. 

 

The leopard only roared and growled, trying to get out of Hyuk’s hold but failed. The eyes were glowing brighter. “You aren’t just a woman, you are Ose itself, the fallen angel” The telekinetic muttered. He spread his fingers, making the leopard spread out as well. 

 

“You’ve done enough damage above, time to end this” Hyunjoon said. He closed his eyes and began to think of an encantation. “You will no longer have power…” He said, raising a hand. “You have no more power” He repeated. “No more power, no more power” And a flash of white light came from his hand, hitting the leopard square in the chest. 

 

The leopard began to shake and transform in mid-air. More light hit when the younger boy raised both his hands. “No more power!!” He yelled, using up all the strength he could muster, while Haknyeon quickly jumped in to blast off some other guards that were about to stop them. 

 

The leopard squirmed and wriggled in the air from the light. Hyuk covered his eyes, keeping his hold on the figure. The growling began turning into a woman screaming and yelling. “No more!!!” The telekinetic said, spreading out his fingers some more. 

 

“Let’s take them to the van” Jacob suggested to Jinri, looking at the ten boys, Midam being one of them. “You’ll all be safe there, Hyunjoon will fix you up” He said to Midam, who nodded, but still looked a little weak. “Grab my hands and my legs, all of you” He said to them. 

 

“Go!” Jinri suddenly blasted off a few other guards who were pointing their guns at them. 

 

“What about Hyuk hyung?” Midam suddenly asked. 

 

“He’ll be fine, we’ve got his back” Jinri said.. “Go! Now!” She said. 

 

“Come on, and hold on tight” Jacob took to the air, effortlessly carrying all ten boys with his arms and legs, making sure to fly not too high but high enough that they were out of arms reach from anyone who might try to attack them. “One of you grab my gun in case someone tries to come for us” He said. 

 

“I’ll do it!” The smaller one from the group said, carefully taking out the pistol, but accidentally firing it on his face, knocking him out in a heavy sleep. 

 

“No!” Midam yelled, catching his groupmate’s wrist in time. “Yedam!” He said, trying to keep his hold on the evidently younger boy. 

 

“Just a little more!” Jacob said, making a landing next to the van. “All of you get inside” He opened the door, carrying Yedam inside. The rest of them hurriedly got in, all of them evidently shaken by their ordeal. “When all this is over, leave the company you’re at, and join Hyuk hyung’s agency instead, you’ll all be much safer there” He advised. All of them nodded in their places and hugged each other for support. “After this, there will be nothing more to worry about, the only thing you’ll be worrying about is when you’ll release new music” He tried to comfort them even more. 

 

~ 

 

A flash of blinding light erupted within the walls of the entire property, making Hyuk and Hyunjoon close their eyes. When the light subsided, they saw the woman fall to the ground, eyes glazed over and shaking, looking completely defeated and horrified at the same time. Hyunjoon’s nose was beginning to bleed, and Hyuk felt all the energy drained out of him. 

 

The sky had returned to normal. No tinge of red nor thunder and lightning in sight. But they saw that the sun was beginning to rise in the horizon. Haknyeon, Jinri, Kevin, and Chanhee noticed the horizon as well, and then turned their attention to the bodies of those who attacked them, littered all over the yard. “So, this is apparently what happens on a case like this…” Kevin managed to say. 

 

Hyunjoon wiped his nose on his sleeve and Hyuk brought Madame Seo towards the tied up men, all of whom looked speechless and defeated. “You have no more power over everyone in the industry,” Hyuk turned to the woman, who said nothing. “But you will admit to all of your crimes to the authorities.” 

 

“And how are you going to make us do that? Who are they going to believe?” One of them asked. 

 

“They will believe us” Haknyeon spoke. “You seem to overlook the fact that we are not like you” He added. 

 

“Mutant or not, your abilities are no match against the pieces of paper we have in our wallets and in our bank accounts” the other said. 

 

“That, is what you think” Hyunjoon said. He muttered a spell all over them, noticing that one of them was the commissioner of the police. A green glow draped over all of them. “When the media gets a hold of all of you, you will admit to your crimes, you will admit to the president, you will admit to every wrongdoing that you’ve done in the industry. Try to deny, and something will hurt.” 

 

“Try to tell people about us, it will hurt as well. The truth can set you free after all” Jinri said. 

 

“They won’t imprison us for long” One of them chided. 

 

“Again, that is what you think. We’ve retrieved a lot of evidence” Hyunjoon said. “Like we said to three of you, you will see us again, and this is the last time you all walk freely.” 

 

“Treasure these moments,” Hyuk said. “They’ll be the last you’ll see as free men, and women” He glanced at Madame Seo. 

 

~ 

 

Hyuk parked the van in the basement parking of TRBL Music hours later. It was a quiet ride on the way, all of them were either too tired or too shaken from what happened. The sun had already risen, and with Hyunjoon’s help, Midam’s groupmate Yedam, was now awake. “Hyunjoon can bring the rest of you back to your dorm” He suggested to Midam’s groupmates. 

 

“I-I don’t think I want to go back there” One of his groupmates, Lee Byounggon, suddenly said. “There might be someone waiting for us again” He said. 

 

The telekinetic nodded, understanding how he felt. “It’s okay. All of you should get yourselves checked in the clinic upstairs for trauma as well. You’ve all been through a lot” He said. “Hyunjoon? Mind bringing them up to the floor where the clinic is?” He asked. 

 

“Which floor is it?” The younger boy asked. 

 

“Third” Hyuk replied, and a disk appeared. “Go on the disk, all of you” He said. “Including you, Midam, or your mom will kill me” He added, making the younger nod and step inside, all of them vanishing. 

 

Jinri, Haknyeon, Jacob, Kevin, and Chanhee all turned to him. “So I guess we’ve solved the case, huh?” Kevin said. 

 

Hyuk nodded slightly. “Yeah, it seems like we did” He said quietly. “I couldn’t have done it without any of you, so, thank you” He added. 

 

They smiled, and went in for a group hug. 


	7. Together and Always Four...Or Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends another series under the Vigilantes solo adventures! I'm not sure when the third's coming up, but it might be Chanyeol's turn, I'm not sure. Either way, if you've been reading this fic, thank you for reading!

The seven of them sat in the corner table of the cafeteria. The sun shone through the windows and halls of the company, and Hyuk blinked, making the nearby television turn on, showing the news reports. 

 

“The biggest case of corruption hitting the entertainment industry has now come to rest, as Seo Eunji, along with the dozens of executives and CEOs of very well-known companies and outlets, came forward to confess their crimes. Among those, Yang Tan, Yang Jinseok, and Song Youngdo, admitted that they were involved with the death of actress Min Junghwa, whose murder was covered up as a suicide, along with the supposed suicide-murders of actress Na Youngji, singers Lauren Ahn and Heo Dayoung, actors Oh Jinho, Na Jongsuk, and Ji Myungsoo as well as the murder of police officer Jung Yujin,” The news anchor reported. 

 

“They were quick” Jinri said. 

 

“I had the guard who gave the case to us call the anti-corruption commission” Hyuk said, while Haknyeon and Hyunjoon went to the nearest vending machine, getting drinks and snacks for all of them. 

 

“Subsequently, the flagship store of luxury brand Montague is now seized and shut down, as ordered by the Blue House, as well as the entertainment agency of Noh Hodong. The awards and certifications that were given to the other people involved in the deaths have also now been revoked following their admission of their crimes and the president has now issued an executive order regarding the health, safety, and well-being of every artist and staff member of the entertainment agencies, along with background checks of the agencies involved. And in other news” The anchor finished, shifting to the next piece of news. 

 

“How do you feel?” She glanced at the telekinetic. “We finally solved it, had them confessing and everything” She added. 

 

Hyuk shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s because I’ve done something like this before, but I feel okay, more on exhausted but okay” He said. 

 

“Is this how you guys usually do it? After every mission you guys do?” Jacob suddenly asked, looking up at the older boy. 

 

He nodded. “Pretty much,” He said. “Right after dealing with the Kang family mob, we went to the convenience store to get something to eat because we all got hungry” He chuckled upon remembering. “We all ate by the Han.” 

 

They smiled at the thought. “All in a day’s work, huh?” Kevin asked. 

 

“Yeah, just another day in Bermuda Investigations” Hyuk said. 

 

Haknyeon and Hyunjoon returned, holding armfuls of drinks and snacks and handing out some to each of them. “So, what else do we do after this?” Haknyeon asked upon sitting back down. 

 

“Well, for starters, drop all of you off, bring you back to Summerland, then I’ll go home and get some sleep or maybe come back here and get back into working” Hyuk said. He scanned their expressions. “Ready to go back home?” 

 

“I do miss my bed” Jacob stretched a little in his seat, while opening his can of coffee. 

 

“Me too, it’s not comfortable lying down on cushions” Chanhee opened his pack of cookies. He paused. “Can we drop by Mirae noona’s record store? Maybe we can visit Changmin or Juyeon or something before we go back?” He said. 

 

“Yeah, maybe she and Younghoon are back now” Jinri said. “We’ve got a lot to catch up, girl talk, you know” She added, but Hyuk knew what she meant. Jinri and Jacob were now officially back together. 

 

Kevin lowered his hood slightly. “I wonder, why doesn’t Ino hyung decide to put up another place like Summerland here in the city? At least we’ll all be near each other” He said. 

 

“You’re super smart yet you don’t know the answer to that question?” Jinri teased. 

 

“Even smart people are still open to learning, even if they think they know everything, there will always be something left to learn” Kevin answered wisely. “But I guess I see what you mean. Being in Summerland is where we’re safe, where we won’t be able to hurt other people.” 

 

“It’s why we left Canada, right?” Jacob glanced at him, and Kevin nodded. 

 

Kevin put down his chip bag. “Midam hyung is your cousin, and he’s a mutant too, right?” He asked the older boy. Hyuk nodded. “So it is possible for our mutation to be hereditary” He said, and the older boy nodded again. 

 

“My brother isn’t a mutant” Jacob shook his head. “I’d probably know if he was.” 

 

“Neither are my siblings” Jinri shook her head as well. 

 

“What does Midam hyung do?” Kevin asked. “Must be very dangerous if he had you falling to your knees and sounding like you were going insane.” 

 

Hyuk looked over at the elevators, in case Midam would appear. “He’s psychic like me, but a little scarier. He can make your worst fears or innermost desires come to life, like an illusion,” He explained. “He could also sense if someone is going to die, their impending death, you know.” 

 

“So last night, Midam hyung showed you your fear?” Haknyeon asked. 

 

The telekinetic nodded. “I saw everyone I knew dead, their bodies scattered all over, including Mirae’s, and then my other friend, the CEO of this place, Jiho, he was lying dead too…” He recalled the illusion his cousin made him see. “But I somehow got through to him” He said. “I don’t know how, but somehow I did.” 

 

“Perhaps it means that your telepathy is becoming much stronger” Kevin suggested. “If you were able to convince Midam hyung to stop with the illusions.” 

 

“Speaking of illusions,” Hyunjoon muttered an incantation over the untouched can of coffee. “This will help get rid of the eso dust that’s in his system” He said, handing the can to Hyuk. 

 

Hyuk smiled. “Thank you all, for your help” He said. 

 

The rest of them smiled as well. “It’s all in a day’s work, or all in a week’s work” Hyunjoon patted his shoulder. 

 

“This was all a week?!” Haknyeon gaped at them. “Then it feels like a very long week…” 

 

“It’s like time slowed down, doesn’t it?” Jinri chuckled. 

 

“Well, if all of you are ready, we can check up on the boys upstairs, then we’ll stop by Viva Polo and the record store” Hyuk got up, drinking the last of his coffee and throwing it in the bin. The rest of them followed, making a beeline for the elevators. 

 

~ 

 

They arrived at the company clinic. “PD Kwon, they’re all resting” The doctor and nurse were quick to inform them as they entered in a line. “They’re all physically okay, except for a few minor wounds here and there, but they’ll be just fine.” The doctor explained, stifling his reaction upon seeing Kevin’s blue face. 

 

“Good,” Hyuk nodded. He glanced at the infirmary, where all ten boys, including Midam, were sitting up at the sight of them. “A few months of counseling?” He said to the doctor. 

 

“I would highly advise that they do.” 

 

“Give me the number of the best psychiatrist that you know, I’ll take care of the expenses” Hyuk said. The doctor nodded and went back to his office. 

 

As they entered the infirmary, they saw all of them with hopeful expressions. “The doctor recommends that you attend counseling for what you’ve been through” Hyuk revealed. “Something like this is not easy to move past, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to know what your plans are? The agency you were all supposed to debut under is now shut down and dissolved” He added. 

 

“I told them they should sign with you, hyung” Jacob suddenly said. “At least you’re there to keep an eye on them, keep them safe and all. Midam’s your cousin too, so all the more reason to sign them on” He added. 

 

“That’s actually a good idea” Jinri nodded, glancing at the ten boys. “They’ll be safe here in TRBL Music, and you can debut two groups at the same time.” 

 

“They’ll be under your care while the group you were already preparing for will be under your friend’s” Kevin pointed out with a smile. 

 

Hyuk smiled. “That is true. There is a lot of room for new talent in TRBL Music. It’s why we started it in the first place. That is, unless you guys prefer signing elsewhere?” He turned to the ten boys again. “Midam, before I forget, here you go” He handed the can over to his cousin. “That’s to get rid of what they put in you last night.” 

 

Midam eagerly opened the can of coffee and drank it. “I’d sign with you” He said. 

 

“So will we!” The rest of them nodded. “We still want to debut, but under a much better agency this time” They all said. 

 

“Good, but because I want to make sure you’re all better, go through some counseling first so you can all cope with the trauma, then I’ll have Jiho draw up contracts for all of you to sign” Hyuk nodded. He smiled at all of them. “You guys never have to worry about Madame Seo and whoever else those people were that took you. You’re all safe with us.” 

 

“No one shady gets past Hyuk hyung too” Haknyeon added, making them laugh. “You’ll really be safe here.” 

 

“Hey!” One of them suddenly said. “Isn’t Woong hyung under this agency too?” 

 

“Woong? Jeon Woong? Yeah, he is” Hyuk nodded. 

 

They cheered even more. “Who would’ve thought, we’d all wind up in the same company together” Yedam smiled wide. “We’re not in the same group, but it feels great knowing that all eleven of us are together again under one roof.” 

 

“This is definitely like Christmas” Haknyeon beamed, pleased with what they had done. 

 

“I think we should leave them to get some rest now,” Hyuk said. “Jiho and I can accompany you back to the dorms you were living at and we can gather your belongings. You should all get out of there completely” He said. 

 

“But where are we going to say?” Byounggon asked. 

 

“In the same building as Woong and his group,” Hyuk explained. “It’s best to have all of you stay in one building. So if you need anything from each other, you’ll all be a knock on the door away.” 

 

They cheered in their seats, Hyuk knowing that they would be able to see their friend again after being separated for quite a while. He was looking forward to doing the same thing sometime soon. They bid the boys goodbye and left the clinic, taking the number of the psychiatrist as well. Hyuk noticed that the name sounded incredibly familiar. 

 

Dr. Park Bom 

 

He quickly realized who it was. Jaehwan’s own guardian was also a doctor. Hyuk smiled to himself and put the paper with the number in his pocket. 

 

~ 

 

A few hours later, Hyuk had pulled up in front of Summerland despite Hyunjoon’s insistence that he teleport them directly inside. The telekinetic figured he’d return the van for now as his own car was still with Junhong and he knew Junhong would have already made some adjustments to his vehicle. He didn’t really mind, as he also knew it was something Junhong loved doing. 

 

“Like I said to you guys before, hyung,” Hyunjoon said, as they stopped in front of the door. “If you guys need some time to heal, like now for instance, come over and stay here. Ino hyung’s always said that Summerland is always open for you.” 

 

“He’s right” Jinri smiled, patting Hyuk on the shoulder. “Summerland is a place of healing as well as learning, and the four of you, well, seven now, are more than welcome to come here.” 

 

“We’ve learned a lot out here, hyung” Haknyeon beamed as well. “Helping you, it’s more than what the Danger Room can do.” 

 

“It’s been a wild week” Kevin said. “But if you’re on a case and need help, we’ll always be there” He gave the older boy a thumbs up. 

 

“Wild is an understatement,” Chanhee commented. “All the things we’ve seen and heard in a week... “ He shook his head, remembering their encounter with Song Youngdo. 

 

“And now the industry hyung is in is safe now” Jacob smiled, reaching for Jinri’s hand. “Who would’ve thought there was so much more to it. I thought you just go train at a company, debut, make money, that’s it. I never thought people would really go that far” 

 

“A very dark side” Hyunjoon nodded. 

 

Hyuk nodded appreciatively, feeling significantly better than he had been over the past several days. “All of you should go inside, get some sleep because you all deserve it for working so hard, and your energy levels are probably drained by now” He advised. 

 

They nodded. “You know where to go if you need anything, alright?” Jinri patted him on the shoulder again. They waved at him while Kevin entered the passcode, opening the door. 

 

Hyuk waved at them as well until the doors closed behind them. The door opened again and Junhong came out, tossing him his keys. “Be safe out there, tread carefully, and tell the others I said hi!” He called out with a laugh. 

 

“I will” Hyuk turned to get in his car and drove away. The tired feeling he felt that night coming back as he was back on the road again. This time, he couldn’t wait to get back to his apartment. 

 

~ 

 

That night, he returned to the studio. Hyuk immediately felt restless after sleeping for nearly a whole day. The guard who turned out to be related to Jung Yujin was still there, nodding at him knowingly. They didn’t need to talk, as he could hear the countless thanks coming from him. He entered the studio he always frequented and sat down with a contented sigh. It felt great to be back. 

 

With a blink, the tv turned itself on, showing the news reports of the evening. Hyuk sat up. “As to how the biggest case of corruption affecting the entertainment industry was solved, it remains to be seen. But, whoever this person or this group of people are, the president as well as the anti-corruption commission have expressed their gratitude and are extending an open invitation for the ones responsible for uncovering this case to receive a commendation for their work and dedication to bring peace and justice to the entertainment industry, the city and even to the country,” The news anchor read the report. “And now in sports.” 

 

The doors opened and Jiho came in. “I knew you’d be here, hero of the week” He grinned, standing by the threshold. “How does it feel, to be the proverbial producer by day, crimefighter by night kind of person?” He asked. 

 

“Exhausting, I have to say” Hyuk laughed. “But now that it’s out of the way, I can focus on this, you know” He said. 

 

“The doctor told me about the ten boys you rescued, they were supposedly going to debut under that agency, right?” Jiho asked. 

 

“Yeah, I told them they could sign on here with us, but after they receive counseling for trauma and other things,” Hyuk explained with a nod. “Coincidentally, the doctor recommended for the job is none other than Jaehwan’s guardian herself.” 

 

“Oh good” Jiho nodded, slightly relieved. “I can’t say this has brought a lot of people to trust in the industry folks, but all we can do is prove that we’re a good agency, not like those companies. Daehwi and Woojin’s group is already in the last stages of debuting, and I have a name in mind for those ten boys who want to sign with us” He said. 

 

“Yeah? What name did you have in mind for them?” Hyuk asked. 

 

“Silver. The element’s used in a lot of things. I got their audition videos, profiles, and I saw that they’re all all-rounders. Singing, dancing, composing, producing, even choreographing, they can practically run their debut themselves,” Jiho was impressed, holding up the folder full of their profiles, including Midam’s. “All that’s left for us to do is give them time to go over their debut concepts, schedule photo shoots, music video shoots, reserve slots on the music programs, and they’re debuting to the world” He seemed incredibly relieved. 

 

“Silver, that’s not a bad name for a group” Hyuk nodded. “They also told me before I left that they are good friends with Jeon Woong, they apparently trained together and are close friends, so at least we’re also reuniting a group of friends too” He added. 

 

Jiho was even more pleasantly surprised. “Didn’t your friend go on a vacation after they solved that case with the gang?” He asked. 

 

“Mirae? Yeah, she did. She’s probably back by now with Younghoon” Hyuk nodded. He raised a brow at his best friend. “Are you suggesting I go on one too?” He asked. 

 

“Well, things are still running smoothly without you around, and I think it’s safe to say you deserve a little break from all the crime-fighting” Jiho patted him on the back. “Effective immediately, go take a break, I’ll be the one to arrange everything, including the arrangements for your cousin and all that” 

 

Hyuk nearly fell out of the chair at his insistence. “Alright, alright, I’ll take a break, but you can’t shut me out if I want to go back here!” He laughed. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I can’t even stop you even if I tried” Jiho shoved him out of the studio. “But, a last visit for the meantime to their practice room won’t hurt , go say hi to them” he said. 

 

“Any name for Daehwi and Woojin’s group yet?” Hyuk asked. He eyed his friend as they walked down the hall. “...AB-SIX?” 

 

Jiho grinned. “Nice, huh? Absolute Six, but the six is a number instead of spelling it out. You know I almost wanted to suggest that to the seven of you under Bermuda Investigations” He said. 

 

The telekinetic gave him a look. “What?” 

 

His friend laughed. “You know how there’s the Justice League? The Avengers? X-Men? Defenders? Mystery Men? Fantastic Four? The seven of you are just like those” He pointed out, and Hyuk laughed. “What? The seven of you are practically a crime-fighting group!” 

 

“So you were going to suggest we be called Absolute Seven?” Hyuk laughed even more. 

 

“I mean, sooner or later, people are going to find out that it’s the seven of you moving to fight crime when the authorities can’t” Jiho pointed out as well, in a low voice this time. “They may as well refer to you all collectively. If I don’t suggest it, they will.” 

 

“That’s true, but until that time, we don’t need a name, our company name says it all anyway” Hyuk shrugged. 

 

Jiho shrugged as well, and the two of them stopped in front of the practice room where Hyuk saw the six of them going over the choreography for their debut song. They knocked on the door first before opening it. All five boys bowed at them immediately. “PD Kwon! You’re back!” Daehwi said cheerfully. 

 

“PD Woo told us everything” Youngmin suddenly mentioned. 

 

Hyuk’s eyes widened slightly. “W-what do you mean?” He turned to his friend. 

 

“W-Woo P-PD-nim,” Youngmin suddenly looked flustered. “He told us what you were really up to, and, told us why, and may I say that knowing this, I feel even more proud to be an artist here” He broke into an awkward smile. 

 

“Us too” Daehwi nodded. “We all made the right choice in training and debuting here”

 

“We’ve got a superhero as a PD” Woojin pointed out, making them laugh. 

 

“They actually care about you, you know” Jiho pointed out to the telekinetic. 

 

“Then I must be doing something right” Hyuk laughed. “Alright then, I just came by to see how you were all doing, because PD Woo over here wants me to take a break, so I’ll be away from you guys again until he says I can come back or something” He nudged him, and they laughed as well. 

 

“Oh, and I have some news that might interest Woong,” Jiho smiled. “The ten boys under the agency that was shut down? Your friends? They’ve all agreed to sign here” He revealed. 

 

Woong’s face lit up, and Daehwi and Donghyun looked incredibly happy for him. “Really? They’ll be here too?” He said. 

 

“Yeah, I didn’t know you were friends with my cousin Midam” Hyuk asked, and Woong gaped at him. “But yes, I’m happy to announce that they’re all willing to sign on here and debut under us, along with you but they’ll be delayed for a bit as they’ll be going through some counseling for trauma.” 

 

The five boys nodded in understanding. “Remember, what you guys just found out, about what PD Kwon does? Try not to tell anyone” Jiho advised them. “They prefer operating in secret, that’s why you don’t see him pop up in the news or get interviewed by reporters about what happened last night” He explained. 

 

“You can trust us!” Donghyun nodded. 

 

“Good, you don’t want me reading your minds” Hyuk teased, and bid them goodbye before turning to leave, Jiho doing the same and following behind. 

 

~ 

 

Viva Polo was open as usual that night. Hyuk stopped for a moment to look at the exterior of the restaurant that had since been rebuilt after being destroyed by the Kang Family goons when they dealt with the family. It was on a night like this that the four of them would get together, with Jihoon sometimes tagging along, and have dinner together, just the four of them. Only he wasn’t sure if it would be the four of them this time as he didn’t know if they were around. 

 

The blinds were already closed, and the telekinetic had a feeling that maybe it really was closing for the night. Just as he was about to leave, the door opened. “Hyuk!” Chanyeol peeked out, giving him a look of disbelief. 

 

Hyuk felt relieved, and crossed the street in time to enter the restaurant, that was already fixed up except for one table. The table already had plates of dishes. “Were you on a case too?” He asked, not wanting to intrude his thoughts. 

 

“I was mostly doing work here” Chanyeol answered. “I wanted to spend time with Sungyoung before I got around to getting one” He explained, gesturing for him to sit down. 

 

“The others are coming?” Hyuk asked. 

 

Chanyeol shrugged. “I don’t know, but I have a feeling they would.” 

 

The door opened, and to their surprise, it was Jaehwan, looking a little worn out but having managed to clean up. He hadn’t been seen in months since the Kang Family encounter. Hyuk and Chanyeol got up and greeted him with hugs, happy to see their friend again after seemingly disappearing for a while. “You know your guardians have been worried sick about you?!” Hyuk said. 

 

“I know, I know!” Jaehwan nodded. “But I’m back now, I’ve been contacting them while I was away, don’t worry. They know where I’ve been all this time.” 

 

“And they never got around to telling us, huh, I see how it is” Chanyeol joked, pretending to be upset. 

 

“I will tell you all what happened, alright? I’m sorry I didn’t get to telling you guys because I thought you were all busy with cases or something” Jaehwan nodded. 

 

Hyuk sensed a change in mood about the tracker. “Seems like whatever you did while you were away put you through a lot” He said. 

 

“Same could be said for you, hero of the week” Jaehwan grinned, patting him on the arm. 

 

The door opened again, and it was Mirae, who looked slightly tanner than usual. She beamed at the sight of the three of them, and the four of them immediately went in for a group hug. “We just got back this afternoon and I’m trying to get rid of the jet lag” She said, seemingly a lot more relaxed than usual. 

 

“So, time to sit down and have dinner before all of this gets cold because we’ve got a lot of things to catch up on” Chanyeol gestured for all of them to sit, and they gathered around the table. 

 

“Juyeon, where is he?” Mirae asked, glancing at the kitchen doors before tucking into the vegetable lasagna. 

 

“I got him to leave early. He’s probably back at the apartment now hanging out with Younghoon and Changmin” Chanyeol replied. “He’s been working double shifts, taking over for people while he wasn’t doing cases with you. He likes it anyway, and mom says he could be promoted to second chef status if he keeps it up.” 

 

“What you did was all over the news” Mirae turned to Hyuk with a smile. “Saw it on the way back from the airport. That was you, wasn’t it? The sudden confessions of those people?” She asked. 

 

Hyuk nodded with a smile. “I had help obviously, but yeah, it’s the case I took” He said. He looked at all of them. “...I missed the three of you, and when I say I missed the three of you, I really did miss the three of you” He admitted, trying to stifle his embarrassment. 

 

They nodded, knowing what he meant. They understood him and how he felt. A comfortable silence came over them as they tucked into the meal. For Hyuk, it felt great to get that feeling off his chest. He was back into familiar territory, into that familiar feeling compared to the new and unsettling feeling that was coming over him while he took on that case involving the Ose cult. 

 

“It makes me remember the first time the four of us gathered,” Jaehwan suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. “I was on my last year of university, and you three even came to see me perform.” 

 

“Because we were being tracked down, but we couldn’t let you skip your finals either” Chanyeol pointed out. “Now, everything’s changed a lot. It’s not just the four of us anymore, or eight-” 

 

“Seven” Jaehwan corrected him. “Just seven, at least now it’s seven, not eight anymore” He said quietly. 

 

Hyuk glanced at him, hoping to figure out what made Jaehwan said it, until his expression fell slightly. “Jinyi… I’m sorry” He said. 

 

Chanyeol and Mirae’s expressions fell as well. “Jaehwan, did she… die?” The fire-bender asked, and the tracker nodded. “I’m sorry” 

 

“Me too” Mirae muttered. 

 

The tracker waved a hand dismissively. “It’s okay. It’s been a few days since I got back, I just needed some time to grieve properly. Jinyi… was killed.” They nodded, giving him encouraging pats. “Well, you are right though, hyung,” He said to Chanyeol. “It’s not just the four of us anymore, it’s become seven, or more than seven now, it’s like our world is getting bigger.” 

 

“I know how you feel, it’s been something I’ve thought about while I was off solving this case,” Hyuk nodded knowingly. “I got to thinking that we won’t always be able to do things together, and I thought, that this might be us growing up or something,” He said quietly, twirling the noodles around his fork. “I kind of ended up thinking that maybe we’d be drifting apart, or that I couldn’t cope with all this change.” 

 

They listened to him, and he knew they understood how they felt, including Mirae. “Well, that might be true, that we won’t always be able to do things as the four of us, at least you should know, that, we might be growing up, but we’re growing up together. We’ll always be friends” She assured him. “We’ll always be under Bermuda Investigations, we’ll always be four, or seven” She said. 

 

“Yeah” Chanyeol smiled as well. 

 

“That’s right. It’ll always be the four of us, or seven” Jaehwan repeated, with a nod. 

 

That seemed to give Hyuk an idea. “Why don’t we all go to Summerland? I’m placed on a break from work for now, Ino hyung said that Summerland’s where we can go to if we feel like taking a break. All seven of us?” He suggested. 

 

Chanyeol, Jaehwan, and Mirae exchanged looks, then looked back at the telekinetic. “That’s not a bad idea. I remember Hyunjoon saying we could go there to heal.” Chanyeol said with a nod. 

 

“I could use the healing” Jaehwan nodded. 

 

~ 

 

The next day, all seven of them left for a little break towards Summerland. They rode in separate vehicles, Jaehwan riding with Chanyeol instead. They had all arrived in the usually vacant parking spots in front of the building. “It’s been a while since we were here” Changmin said, while they brought out the bags they packed for a full weekend. 

 

Younghoon approached the door and rang the doorbell. “I’ll get it!” He heard someone say from behind the door. 

 

“This is going to be like when we stayed while Mirae was under, right?” Jaehwan said. 

 

“Yeah, pretty much” Chanyeol nodded. 

 

The doors opened, and out popped the blue face of Kevin, startling Jaehwan a little. “Hey! You guys are here! Ino hyung says he’s been expecting you all” He said, stepping aside to let them in, exchanging hugs and pats with Changmin, Juyeon, and Younghoon, who also looked a little more relaxed along with looking slightly different, having changed his hairstyle over the course of his trip with Mirae. 

 

Hyunjoon appeared as well. “Finally, you guys took us up on our offer to stay for a bit. Ino hyung’s already prepared your old rooms,” He gestured to Juyeon, Changmin, and Younghoon. “And the two other guest rooms. One guest room has three beds, as you remember” He said, gesturing to the much older boys. 

 

“Great. One of you can use my room instead, I think I’ll sleep on the extra bed in Mirae’s room” Younghoon suggested, glancing at his girlfriend with a knowing smile. 

 

“Then I get dibs on your old room. I remember that being nicer than mine” Juyeon pointed out, a hand raised. 

 

“We’re good with that other guest room, yeah” Jaehwan nodded. 

 

Hyunjoon cast a spell, making the bags they were carrying disappear. “Your stuff’s now in the rooms. All that’s left is to relax and settle down.” He said. 

 

Kevin was beaming. “I can’t believe we’re all together” He said. “Literally everyone is under one roof now.” 

 

They laughed. “Yep, it does seem like it” Hyuk said. “Kind of like the Bermuda mission all over again. Except this time it’s different.” 

 

“Hopefully” Chanyeol was quick to point out. 

 

“Hopefully.” 

 

The End. 


End file.
